


Under the Same Moon

by totemwolfie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, Animal Death, Blood, Blow Jobs, Courtship, Friends With Benefits, Gay Sex, Howling, M/M, Moon Cycles, PTSD, Physical Abuse, Rape, Recovery, Slow Burn, Werewolf, Werewolf Pack, Werewolves, abusive alpha wolves, alpha and omega, gay werewolves, moon song, non-con, physical assault, soul mates, wolves courting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-05-28 07:27:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 55,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19389343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totemwolfie/pseuds/totemwolfie
Summary: Shiloh is an omega wolf in a werewolf pack that he absolutely hates, under the control of sadistic, abusive alpha wolf.  Then one day he catches the eye of the most powerful alpha he's ever seen in his life.  Therus is a true werewolf; he's powerful and beautiful, and he'll do anything to keep the frightened omega safe and help him recover from his past trauma.  But can Shiloh learn to trust another alpha? Can he let the past go?





	1. PART ONE - Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 07.26.2019 - SOMEHOW I magically deleted this first chapter when I was editing another chapter so I'm having to repost it... and I feel like such an idiot. Sorry I lost your wonderful comments and kudos. I shouldn't do things when I'm manic and super tired.

Shiloh grunted under the weight of his alpha. The crude, dirty sound of sex filled the bedroom, the scent of his alpha’s heavy musk hung like a fog in the air; his own scent, fearful and submissive, light like an afterthought. When his alpha wrenched his arm behind his back it tore a yelp from Shiloh, and in return, the larger man behind him laughed and thrust harder. Claws sank deep into his bony hip and he smelled the blood before he felt the pain. Teeth bit at his shoulders, sinking deep, and Shiloh smothered his cry into the bed.

“Mmm,” rumbled the larger man behind him. He leaned back, licking the blood from his lips, while he looked at the young man in front of him. Shiloh was on his knees, his face pressed into the mattress, his ass high in the air. Devon had pinned one of his arms against the small of his back, twisting it just enough to bring the omega pain. Bruises colored the younger man’s pale skin and blood was smeared across his shoulders and down his hip. “I never get tired of fucking you, Shiloh.”

He didn’t reply, only ground his teeth together as the man started to pound into him harder. It hurt. Every thrust hurt. Sickness built up in his stomach and he turned his face again into the mattress, whining in pain. Devon didn’t just fuck him, he made him bleed, he made him cry; he used the omega as his own little toy, fucking him whenever he wanted, for as long as he wanted. When Devon bit the back of his neck again, his sharp teeth cutting into old scar tissue easily, Shiloh closed his eyes and waited because he knew they were finished.

The man came seconds later, groaning loudly and shamelessly, filling the omega with his potent alpha cum. The scent was overbearing and Shiloh pressed his face into the mattress, which didn’t actually help, because it was Devon’s bed he was pinned down in. Wetness dribbled between his legs and when Devon pulled out, he purposely ran his hand over Shiloh’s ass and smeared sticky cum all over his lower back and thighs.

Shiloh slumped down onto the dirty sheets, breathing heavily. The bed shifted and he turned his head just enough to watch as his alpha stood and stretched. Devon was the devil in disguise; he was tall, dark, and handsome. His skin a healthy olive tone, his hair long and dark, his eyes deep brown, and his smile wicked and perfect. Perfect--he looked perfect upon first glance. But he was ruthless and sadistic, and he loved nothing more than to berate those beneath him, and no one took the amount of beatings that Shiloh did.

Being the only omega in a pack of testosterone-fueled beta males, who were always high-strung and fighting for scraps or their alpha’s attention, meant that he often took the brunt of their frustrations. However, Devon had made it perfectly clear that the only person allowed to fuck Shiloh was himself. That didn’t mean the rest of the pack couldn’t hurt him in other ways, and given his alpha’s mood, there was very little Shiloh could do to stop them.

He sat up slowly, reaching back to rub at the pain throbbing through his lower back. The bite marks on his neck and shoulders had already stopped bleeding, same with the marks on his hip. He needed to shower and get to work. He stood slowly, watching as Devon moved around his bedroom. The pack lived in a three-story brick townhouse in the East part of the city; there were two bedrooms, not including the master bedroom, and a small office that had been converted into Shiloh’s room. Devon had the master to himself, while the other four wolves shared the other bedrooms. There were also two full bathrooms, including the master bath, and a half-bathroom just off the family room.

It was an old, once gorgeous row of buildings, but slowly this part of the city had become overrun with empty warehouses, crime, and poverty. The empty buildings had been quickly claimed by small werewolf packs, and so there were constant fights over territory lines. This particular neighborhood had only one werewolf pack, Devon’s, because the aggressive alpha had simply gone out and either killed opposing alphas, or scared them into submission. He strutted around like a king, and he made sure that any other wolves that lurked around the area knew that he was. 

When he stood, Devon turned to him. “When will you be home?”

“After ten,” Shiloh said as he kept his eyes on the ground. He found his pants and picked them up. “I have the late shift.”

When the alpha turned away and ignored him, Shiloh walked around him and out the door. He took the narrow stairway down one floor and stopped first in the bathroom to shower, and then crossed to his small bedroom. He dried off and stood in front of the mirror, dressing his wounds. They would be healed in a couple of hours, but he didn’t want anyone questioning why he had bite marks on the back of his neck.

He paused, staring at his reflection. Shiloh was the perfect example of a submissive omega werewolf: pale, thin and smaller than the rest of the pack. His silver hair was shaggy and just long enough that he had to put it back into either a ponytail or bun of his job as a waiter at an Italian restaurant. His eyes were a pale grey, giving him a haunting look that people either found to be beautiful or unnerving. He hadn’t always looked so ghostly and sick, but five years in an abusive pack really drained the life out of a person.

Shiloh checked the time, he had an hour before he had to be to work, which meant if he left now, he could stop at the 7-Eleven on the way and get a quick lunch. Even though he had just showered he still applied some soft, coconut-scented fragrance spray to cover up his alpha’s heavy scent, and then applied a little makeup to hide the bags under his eyes and make him look more soft and approachable. He put in little faux diamond stud earrings, then pulled on black slacks, a grey button-up with a black tie, and finished it with a gold apron around his waist. After tying his hair back into a bun he added a bunch of hair spray and then left his bedroom.

The rest of the house was quiet, it was just past two-in-the-afternoon and Heath, Jacob, Darrel and Ben were all at their own jobs. Devon himself didn’t have a job, he made the rest of them work and took their paychecks, and then handed out an “allowance” as he saw fit. The rest of the money went to paying for cable and utilities, the monthly house payment, groceries, and anything their alpha wanted. 

The first step outside was always the best. Shiloh paused on the stoop, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Today, along with the usual heavy scent of city pollution and humans, was the scent of rain. Shiloh always carried a backpack with him, and took a moment to pull out and open a black umbrella. Rain was just starting to fall as he left his house behind and was quickly engulfed by heavy traffic and pedestrians. His neighborhood might be falling apart, but just a couple of blocks to the North it was a whole different story. This area was thriving with businesses new and old. Shiloh headed for the convenience store on the corner, which was quiet at the moment. The bell rang when he stepped inside and he recognized the lady behind the counter.

He went straight for the prepackaged food, opening the cooler door and grabbing a plastic container filled with chicken alfredo. He picked out a bottle of green tea and a couple of cookies on his way up to the register. After paying, and exchanging polite small-talk with the women, he then went and used the dirty microwave to heat up his questionable pasta meal and took a seat in a booth in front of the windows, which were currently plastered in posters, advertisements and newspaper ads, making it impossible to see outside.

The one good thing about being a werewolf was that he could eat nearly anything without getting any kind of stomach sickness from it. Meaning even the most questionable premade food was never off the menu, even gas station sushi or a hamburger that had been sitting in the display all day. And while the chicken was a little tough and there wasn’t nearly enough alfredo sauce, the meal was hot and filled him up. The green tea gave him a nice little kick of caffeine and the cookies heavy were on calories and sugar, both things he needed right now. 

He was just finishing his meal and checking the time on his phone when the bell dinged again and Shiloh was smacked right in the face with the heavy scent of alpha werewolf. He snapped his head up in surprise, his eyes wide, as a man walked into the store. Devon might be a freak when it came to pack status, but it was a real thing, it wasn’t just a class-system. A werewolf pack was always led by an alpha wolf, or in most cases, a mated pair of alpha wolves, and the rest of the pack was filled with beta wolves, who were submissive but equal to each other, and then finally there were the omega wolves at the bottom of the pack. They were there to keep the rest of the wolves from fighting each other, because the omega was meant to be the whipping boy. They took the pack’s wrath, they ate last, they were bullied around and beaten. Some were born into the status, like Shiloh, and others were put there as punishment. 

Every wolf in a pack had a place, and Shiloh knew the second he smelled this man that he was an alpha werewolf. A fucking _powerful_ alpha. The most powerful alpha he had ever smelled in his entire life. Devon was a strong alpha, he ruled their pack and bullied other packs around them, but this guy--this guy was in a league of his own. 

The _energy_ he emitted was strong enough that Shiloh almost threw himself to the ground in submission, and the guy wasn’t even looking at him! Even the kind lady at the register took a step back, because his alpha energy was so big that it made a simple human take notice. Every second was like an hour, with the alpha wolf’s heavy pheromones filling his nose with every sharp breath. Shiloh felt his stomach drop and his heart kick up, beating frantically in his chest. 

Whenever Devon had gone to intimidate other packs, or had come across strays in their neighborhood, he always asserted his dominance the same ways: by beating and raping. As the seconds clicked by, Shiloh felt more and more certain that if he didn’t leave now he was going to end up in the restroom on his belly with this man’s teeth in his neck.

But he couldn’t even move, he was completely frozen in place. He watched as the alpha looked around the store, and when he finally turned and Shiloh saw the profile of his face, he forgot to breathe. Why were all alpha wolves so fucking handsome? Was it to lure in unsuspecting packmates? Was it some cruel trick? This guy was gorgeous. His hair was medium length and midnight black, his skin tanned from the sun, and he was dressed like a cliche bad-boy biker in a leather coat, sinfully tight jeans, boots, and a studded leather belt. 

Shiloh bit his lip, tasting blood, and it was then that the man whipped around to look at him. Their eyes locked and Shiloh leaned back so fast the booth moved with the impact of his shoulders. The alpha’s face was beautiful; strong cheekbones, full lips, and heavy black eyebrows and black eyelashes that highlighted the bluest eyes that he had seen in his life. Beautiful blue eyes locked onto Shiloh and made him start to shake in his seat. He knew he should look away, Devon would beat anyone who maintained eye contact with him for this long, but Shiloh just couldn’t look away, even as his brain was misfiring and screaming at him.

The man walked over to him, eyebrows pulled into a frown and lips thinning. His strides were long and his entire body moved like a predator. Shiloh watched him approach, eyes widening, hands curling into the fabric of his apron, and still, he didn’t break eye contact. Only when the alpha rested one large hand onto the table and leaned down to sniff the scent on his neck did Shiloh drop his eyes and curl away in fear.

A low, rumbling growl started to come from the man’s chest, and Shiloh’s fear kicked up another ten notches, to the point that he was seconds away from making some kind of scene, whether it was whining, scrambling to get away, or the worst thing he could do which was lash out and bite this guy in the face.

“Hey, Therus?”

The alpha jerked upright in surprise, stepping away from Shiloh, his attention on a man who he had just burst through the front door. Shiloh didn’t look at him, he didn’t look at the alpha, he only grabbed his bag and vaulted over the booth and ran out the backdoor and into the street. 

Outside wind and rain hit him in the face, but he didn’t bother with trying to open his umbrella, because he had to get away. He saw in front of the store a large black motorcycle, which had to be the alpha’s so instead of taking the easy route to work, he turned and went over a chain link fence and went through the filthy, smelly dark alleys.

He ran all the way to the restaurant. When he finally stopped outside the building he was pretty wet from the rain, and his hair had come out of its bun. Before going inside he turned, eyes sweeping the heavy street traffic. Satisfied that he hadn’t been followed, he stepped into Leonardo’s Pizza and Italian Food.

He passed through the bustling cliche-styled restaurant, through the kitchen, and to the back employee restroom that he locked himself inside. He stared at his disheveled appearance in the mirror and leaned over the sink.

“Breathe,” he told himself over and over again. “Just breathe. He’s gone. You’ll never see him again. There are like, eight million people in this city, you’ll never see him again.”

Even so, when he reached up to touch his neck, he could almost feel the man’s hot breath on his neck. And he had smelled-- _good_. Up close he had smelled like wintermint and coffee, along with his heavy wolf musk. Shiloh gulped as his stomach flipped around, giving him goosebumps and nausea. It was strange, he had been around other alphas before, but none had affected him so strongly.

The only explanation he could come up with was that maybe, just maybe, that alpha was a natural-born werewolf. Even though he had been a werewolf for the last five years, Shiloh knew very little of the werewolf world, as he was incredibly sheltered by his pack, but he had learned that there were two types of werewolves: those born into it, and those who had been bitten.

Shiloh, like the rest of his pack, had all been bitten. On the full moon they would become ravenous, violent, horrible beasts that would kill anything they could, usually eating it; fight whoever got in their way, and usually fucked whatever they could pin down. Shiloh, being the omega, was always on the latter end of the spectrum, coming out of the Moon cycles violated, exhausted, and healing. With time and practice werewolves could learn to change on their own, day or night, no full moon needed. 

Natural born werewolves were very much the same, but they had two huge advantages: they could change whenever they wished without pain or practice, and they had a “level-up” form, able to transform from a simple massive wolf, to a bipedal, eight-foot monster often depicted in horror movies.

Shiloh had never seen one, and he prayed he never did.

“Calm down, get to work,” he hissed at his reflection before he got soap and water and scrubbed his neck, hoping and praying that any scent from that alpha would be gone before he went home that night. If Devon smelled another alpha on him he would flip out, even if it wasn’t Shiloh’s fault.

After another unsuccessful pep-talk, Shiloh forced himself to fix his hair, touch up his makeup the best he could, put on a fake smile, and then left the bathroom. He had a job to do for the next eight hours, and he was going to focus on that and only that.

...

It was almost ten-thirty when Shiloh unlocked the front door and let himself into the house. He was tired, he was stressed, and he was hungry. He walked through the family room, ignoring his packmates who were all home for the evening and drinking while streaming a football game, and walked up the stairs, his destination the bathroom, when Devon descended the stairs and stopped him.

“You’re late,” he accused.

Shiloh kept his eyes on the ground as he leaned back against the wall. “I said it would be after ten.”

“It’s later than normal,” the alpha growled. He leaned in, sniffing at his omega’s neck. “Where you out fucking someone else?”

Five years of this bullshit was exhausting. “Of course not, Devon,” he replied wearily. He pulled a wad of money from his apron and a handful of coins and offered them to the man. “Here are my tips for the evening.”

“Why are you so eager to get away from me?” he asked as he took the money.

“I’m really tired,” he answered. “We had a birthday party for a group of humans. Fifteen kids under five--”

“I don’t care, Shiloh,” Devon grunted, but he was satisfied with his answer. He took the money and continued on his way, and Shiloh was able to slip into the bathroom.

Only when he locked the bathroom door and stopped to wash his face did he remember the alpha from the 7-Eleven. He stopped, staring at his reflection, as he reflected on what it felt like when that man had stared into his eyes. Shiloh’s heart did a flip and his empty stomach filled with butterflies. Devon would have killed anyone who dared stare at him like Shiloh had that stranger, he should know better by now. But he had been so entranced by the alpha’s beauty and power that he had completely forgotten how to think.

He frowned and turned away from the mirror while stripping out of his clothing. He had to stop thinking about that man immediately. If Devon found out, if Devon ever had an actual reason to question him, he would unleash the rest of the pack on him, and Shiloh had that happen only twice in the last five years. The first time had been during his first week in the pack, and he had been broken and bloody and cried for days. The second time had been after a party with other werewolf packs, and another pack’s alpha had started to flirt with him. Shiloh hadn’t flirted back, he had refused to dance, he had even shoved the man away when he had tried to touch him, but none of it mattered. Devon had beaten that alpha within an inch of his life, and taken Shiloh home and--

He let cold water blast his body and used it to clear his head. He had to stop thinking, right fucking now.

He washed his hair and his body, removed the bandages from his healed bite marks, and then stepped out. He wrapped a towel around his waist, gathered his items, and crossed the hall to his bedroom. Inside he went through his pockets, finding some odd change that he placed in a jar on his dresser, and then opened is backpack and pulled out a container of leftovers from the restaurant: a garden salad, a single breadstick, and some boneless chicken wings. Shiloh quickly pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt and sat on his bed next to the open window.

It was still raining, and the sound was comforting. He ate while listening to the soft patter of rain on the metal of the fire escape, and played soft music on his phone. The food was cold, and a little soggy, but it didn’t matter. He had lived off eating rats and literal food scraps during that first horrible year with the pack, so he could eat a soggy salad.

He was just cleaning up, and getting his clothes around for the next day, when he heard the roar of a motorcycle.

“Who the hell would be out on a bike in his weather?” he muttered to himself as the bike rumbled past the house. He shook his head, turning off the lights and going back to the window, when the bike came back up the street. He cocked his head, standing in the safety of the shadows, and frowning as the bike stopped in the middle of the street. The helmeted figured turned to the row of townhouses. He seemed to be looking at each building; his head moving slightly to indicate he was scanning doors and windows.

Shiloh frowned. It was dark and the downpour so heavy that even with his werewolf eyes he couldn’t make out the person on the bike, he just saw black. But when they stopped moving, Shiloh felt a jolt, because it was obvious that they saw _him_ through the shadows and the rain. He stepped back, grabbing the curtains while he did, and jerked them shut.

The bike rumbled to life and the sound soon faded. 

“It wasn’t,” Shiloh whispered to himself. “It absolutely fucking was _not_.”

Why would anyone hunt him? Did they not understand the position that it would put an omega in? He paced nervously, breath coming fast and hands sweating and shaking. He had to calm down before he lost it and ended up blacked out on the floor. Slowly he knelt down and pressed his forehead against the shag rug, closed his eyes, and focussed on his breathing.

When the wave passed he crawled into bed and pulled the blankets up over his head. 

It was nothing. It was probably just a werewolf scouting out Devon. It happened all the time, especially to packs he pissed off. Maybe one of the other guys pursued a female in someone else’s pack and pissed off their alpha; maybe Heath picked another fight he couldn’t win and Devon would have to once again, bail his ass out.

It was always someone else in the pack bringing problems home, it was never him.

It wasn’t him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My original plans were to 1) not share this because I'm writing it for me, and 2) not have chapters and write it in just large parts. 
> 
> Obviously, things changed. I'm sharing it because I'm a needy bitch who needs validation (sorry.) And while writing the first three chapters as "Part One" would have worked, it definitely wouldn't have worked for the second part, which will be a lot longer, with more characters, dialog, and character building. So, now we get some awkward chapters that were never meant to be chapters, shoved into parts *sarcastic thumbs up!*
> 
> A little backstory: Therus was my first role-play and original character ever; I dreamed him up like, fifteen fucking years ago, back when my online life was all about finding online friends to RP characters with. And I have never written a story for him, which is kind of a shock, because I absolutely adore my giant, powerful, alpha wolf with a heart of gold. The story will focus more on Shiloh, because while Therus is my man, and inspired so many other werewolves and stories, I actually have a hard time writing him. Makes sense, right? I know.
> 
> And yes, this is going to be more graphic than other shit I've written, especially when it comes to non-con. There is rape, there is abuse; Shiloh's life with his pack is NOT fun, and Devon is a horrible alpha. So be warned, while I don't get too graphic (writing non-con is pretty uncomfortable for me) it is there, and it might not be for everyone.
> 
> As usual, my werewolf story has the tag of "alpha and omega" but this isn't a true ABO universe story. There are a lot of similarities , but it's not an actual ABO story. If that's what you're looking for, sorry to disappoint out, but AO3 has so much great ABO fics that I'm sure you'll find something that suites you :)
> 
> Like I said earlier, this whole thing is just a pile of self-indulgence. I'm writing it for me, so if it doesn't make sense, if it sucks, if it's quite different from what I usually write, I'm sorry, but I just NEED to get this story out of my head.
> 
> As usual, thanks for reading, I love you all! Also, I'm not real active on Tumblr anymore, so if you want to say hi or something, you can find me on Twitter @wolffeathers83


	2. PART ONE - Chapter Two

The next morning started off like all the others: the pack squabbling over breakfast, Devon either encouraging it for his amusement or shoving someone into the floor and beating them into submission, while Shiloh sat separate from the rest at the island, just trying to ignore everyone and eat his cereal.

“So, Shiloh,” Ben said when he stood to get more juice from the refrigerator, “I saw you leaving the 7-Eleven last night.”

He dropped his spoon. “Wh-What?”

“Yeah, saw you walking out with some pretty lady.”

He rolled his eyes. “Shut the fuck up,” he growled. He started to eat again, ignoring the beta and the eyes on his back. They did this to him sometimes, tried to set him up, he had no idea why, maybe just because they were all so miserable that if he wasn’t being raped he beaten, then they weren’t happy? 

“I had lunch and went to work,” Shiloh said when he knew they weren’t going to drop it. “And why would you be stalking me, Ben, when you should have been at work.” He turned around on the stool and stared at the beta wolf, refusing to blink or break eye contact. “Maybe _you_ were sneaking around behind our alpha’s back.”

Ben swallowed hard and looked at Devon, quickly dropping his eyes. “I was just playing around, Christ.”

“Someone has a backbone this morning,” smirked Heath as he sat back. “Why so defensive, Shiloh?”

“I’m not being defensive,” he growled. He glanced at Devon, who was listening, but he didn’t look annoyed or pissed, more amused, so he pressed his luck. “I’m just sick and tired of you all being such dicks.”

“You say you wanna suck my dick?” Heath leered with a grin.

He rolled his eyes as he stood. He went and rinsed off his dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. “Fuck yourself, Heath.”

Devon laughed. “My little omega still has some spark in him.”

Shiloh tensed, waiting to see where this would go, but when the alpha only waved him on, he took the opportunity to get the hell out of the kitchen before the pack said or did anything else to provoke their alpha. Instead of going back to his room, however, he headed outside. Every morning he went for a walk around the block. Now that they were the only wolves in the neighborhood he was allowed to go out alone, but earlier in the year, when things were rough between other packs, he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without a packmate.

God forbid someone other than Devon get him on his belly.

It was sunny and the pavement was still wet from the previous night’s rain, making everything smell damp and warm. As he walked down the block he tilted his head up, looking up as the rain clouds spread thin and started to disappear. The sky was a brilliant, bright blue, and there was just the right about of a breeze.

He circled back around again, just as the other four members of his pack left for work. He could hear them before he even finished walking around the corner. Ben and Heath were arguing, Darrel was threatening to leave Ben if he didn’t get in the car, and Jacob was having a smoke and ignoring the others. When he heard car doors closing and the sound of squealing tires he ducked down next to a cluster of shrubs to avoid being seen. He was watching as the cars sped by, when he smelled it.

Wintermint, coffee, wolf piss and musk. Shiloh turned around, following the scent to a light pole just a few feet from the corner. The rain had washed away any other evidence that a werewolf had been here, but the alpha’s heavy scent still cling to the pole. Shiloh backed away, looking around frantically. He didn’t see or sense another werewolf nearby, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. He needed to get home, fast.

He walked quickly home, his brain a flurry of activity and anxiety. So it had been that alpha lurking around last night, and apparently he was pretty confident in himself to mark inside another pack’s territory. He was entertaining the idea that it was all a coincidence, as he walked into the house, when he was suddenly slammed into the nearest wall.

The world went black and Shiloh’s legs gave out, only the grip of the man behind him kept him from crumpling to the ground. It was the sharp, burning pain of penetration that woke him up, and had him growling in his chest.

It was purely instinctive, but that didn’t matter to Devon.

“You’re fighting me?” The alpha snarled against the back of his neck. He sank his teeth in deep, his mouth filling with blood. Shiloh let out a surprised cry of pain, and the heavy scent of his pain filled the air. It only fueled the larger man on, and he grunted with every movement.

Shiloh let out a squeal that would have been a scream had Devon not punched him in the ribs and forced the air from his lungs. He slumped forward, curling his claws into the wall, as he attempted to be as submissive as possible in order to lessen the violence.

It didn’t work this time, his alpha had a taste for blood.

Devon fucked him hard, blood slickening the way and soon it was running down the omega’s legs. He sank his claws into Shiloh’s belly and clawed, tearing another sob of pain from him. He tried to squirm away, but when Devon’s teeth sank into his neck, he was unable to even move. He was stuck in his alpha’s grasp; helpless.

Devon thrust hard, the sound filling the room, and he shoved Shiloh against the unforgiving wall, smearing it with his blood. He fingers left dark bruises on Shiloh’s skin as he pumped in and out as hard and fast as he could, until he was cumming; blood mixed with semon dripped onto the floor.

“You’re my little bitch, you hear me?” Devon snarled as he spit blood. Shiloh was quaking against him, and he was gasping to breathe. Devon pushed him against the wall harder, and Shiloh whined in pain.

Devon pulled his cock out of the omega’s ass and shoved in three fingers. “Do you fucking get it, Shiloh?”

“I do—“ he gasped. “Please—I do— _please stop_ —!!”

“I’ll stop when I want to!” He snarled as he pumped his fingers in and out, which were immediately covered in blood. He bit down the omega’s back, tearing his shirt away with his teeth.

Shiloh didn’t know how long the assault went on. Eventually Devon removed his fingers, shoved him to the floor, and raped him again, but he didn’t even feel it, too numb from pain he’d already had. When the alpha finally got off him, he snorted in disgust at the mess he had made.

Shiloh lay, covered in blood and filth, his breath coming in harsh and gasping. He wouldn’t cry, not here, not like this, and he only stood when he heard the water running in the master bathroom upstairs. He limped up to the hallway bath and collapsed in the shower. He started the water and remained curled up on the tile floor, letting the hot water spray down onto him.

It had been a long time since Devon had assaulted him so fucking bad. Five years ago what had happened was just a regular evening, but Devon had reeled in his bloodlust during the last year and a half.

Or so Shiloh thought. 

He cleaned up the best he could before limping to his bedroom and collapsing to the floor. Keeping his movements slow, he covered his wounds with bandages, before he tried to do something about his backside. Devon had definitely tore him, he probably needed some first aid, but he couldn’t do it himself, not with as much pain he was in.

Eventually he simply gave up, and crawled into bed. He would heal quick enough, and he didn’t need to worry about infection. He would just have to deal with the pain and try to get some rest. He had to work that evening, but he was too exhausted to stress over it. Sleep, he just needed a little sleep—

When he closed his eyes he saw a black wolf with blue eyes.

He choked on a sob, rolling over and smothering his bruised face into the pillow. He could smell wintermint and coffee, and it only made him cry harder. 

He didn’t want to be pursued by another alpha. His mind and body simply could not handle it. And that other wolf was bigger than Devon, he was more powerful and that meant he was more aggressive, more blood-thirsty.

He entertained the thought that maybe this alpha would simply kill him and he could stare into those beautiful blue eyes as he died. The idea made him feel strangely at peace, and he managed to sleep.

…

Shiloh woke to three voicemails and his phone ringing loudly. Slowly Shiloh lifted it from the nightstand, and blinked at the time and caller ID.

It was 4:30 PM. His manager was calling.

“Fuck,” he gasped as he sat up, which tore a groan of pain from him. He answered the call, “Amanda… I—I completely forgot I worked tonight.”

The woman sighed irritably. “You expect me to believe that? We talked just last night, Shiloh.”

He stood slowly and went to stand in front of the mirror. “I’m sorry,” he apologized as he touched his bruised face. “I can be there in a couple minutes.”

“Hurry up,” she snapped before the call ended.

Shiloh cursed and started to dress. Makeup wouldn’t be able to completely hide the array of rainbow colors on his face, but it would definitely soften it. He brushed his hair and put it in a low ponytail to hide the swelling on the back of his neck, and then left his bedroom.

In the kitchen he found Darrel, home early. “Hey, Darrel?”

“You left a fucking mess in the hallway and I had to…” the older man stopped talking when he turned around. His brown eyes widened a bit and he had the decency to look slightly mortified. “Fuck.”

_I must look worse than I realized._ “Can you please drive me to Leonardo’s? I’m super late and I can’t possibly run.”

The beta wolf didn’t move at first, but after his eyes roamed over the omega, he finally agreed. “Fine, but you’re on your own tonight, I’m not coming to pick you up.”

“That’s okay,” he said with a heavy sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’ll bring you some chicken wings.”

They left the house and approached the man’s car parked on the curb. “You will?”

“Extra spicy,” he added, knowing that the man loved hot food. Shiloh didn’t expect the man to agree, he thought for sure that he would demand a blow job, because the others would, but he only requested extra hot sauce. Shiloh swallowed hard, hating that it took a brutal rape from his alpha to sway one of his packmates to treat him like a human being rather than a piece of shit.

They arrived at the restaurant in minutes and Shiloh thanked the beta again before he ran inside. He found his manager, who took one look at him and blanched in surprise, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly, before she sent him out to work.

Shiloh almost didn’t make it through the night. Only by the power of werewolf healing abilities and a handful of painkillers did he manage to stay on his feet all night with a convincing fake-smile on his face. Before the kitchen closed for the night he put in an order for extra spicy bone-in wings, and used his tip money to pay for them. 

He placed the food in his backpack and walked home, which brought on a whole new level of anxiety. The city was loud, there were trucks, cars, and motorcycles making noise constantly, and whenever he heard a loud roar, he flinched. By the time he was home, his palms were sweaty and he was shaking because he couldn’t help but feel like he was being followed.

Once home he slowly stepped through the threshold, holding his breath, and listening. When he was greeted with only the sound of the television, he slowly walked through the house to the family room, and found Darrel there, sitting on the couch watching the news. He frowned.

“Where is everyone?” he asked as he slipped his backpack off his shoulders and opened it.

“Hunting,” Darrel said as he sat up. When Shiloh pulled out the bag of chicken wings his eyes widened. “You-you actually bought me those?”

“I promised,” he reminded the beta as he set the bag on the coffee table between them. “Who are they hunting?”

“Someone came and pissed all over the territory,” Darrel explained as he reached for the bag. “Heath smelled him when he came home earlier. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. Even Devon's car! Pissed all over the tires.”

Shiloh swallowed hard, nearly choking. “I… I didn’t smell anything.”

“Devon has been busy covering it up,” he said. “But you’ll smell it upstairs.”

“What? Why upstairs?”

“Apparently he was on the fire escape.”

Shiloh felt like he was going to pass out. The only fire escape was just outside his bedroom window. He exhaled shakily. “That’s...that’s crazy. Who does that?”

“Fuck if I know,” he said between bites of food. “Devon will find him and kill him. So don’t worry about it.”

_I don’t know about that,_ Shiloh thought to himself. If this was the same alpha he saw at the convenience store, then Devon may have finally met someone he couldn’t beat. He slowly picked his bag up. “I’m going to bed.”

He headed upstairs, stopping first to leave his tips in Devon’s room, and then walked into his bedroom. He could smell that the rest of the pack had been there, and that immediately pissed him off. This was his bedroom, it was supposed to be his sanctuary, and the other members of his pack had always stayed out of it. Now they had all been in it, and they had gone through his dresser, gone through his bedding; the bloody sheets from earlier had been tossed around his room, they had stolen his change jar-- 

He growled and dropped his backpack to the floor and stood, clenching his fists. He was so pissed that he didn’t even notice the underlying scent at first. He caught it when he walked over to his bed and started to take off the sheets, because they smelled like his packmates and he didn’t want to sleep smelling them on his pillow, when he caught the softest hint of wintermint.

Shiloh stopped and raised his head. The bed was just under the window and he usually left it open for fresh air and to listen to the bustle of the city; it was like a comforting white noise that helped him sleep. He knelt on the bed and opened his window and sure enough, he could smell that alpha wolf. He sat back, clutching his blanket to his chest, his entire body shaking, when he realized that not only had the wolf been outside, but he had been _inside_ , and he had touched the comforter Shiloh was currently hugging and burying his face into.

He sat back in surprise, heart in his throat. Stumbling off the bed he clumsily grabbed all his blankets and sheets and rushed to the washer and dryer in the bathroom across the hall. He threw everything into the washing machine and added extra detergent and started the wash cycle. Then he showered, scrubbing himself down with the smelliest body wash he owned. 

Getting out of the shower he told himself not to stop at the full-length mirror. He told himself not to look at his bruised face and the claw marks on his stomach, but he did. He swallowed hard, touching the injuries that were, while slowly, healing well. They shouldn’t scar, and would be gone by tomorrow. The painful throb in his backside was still pretty prominent however, and he stopped to take another handful of painkillers.

After showering he pulled on sweatpants and a tank top, and was just putting his bedroom back together with clean sheets, when his door opened. Shiloh straightened up, turning around as Devon stepped into his bedroom.

Shiloh stepped back, bowing his head nervously. “Did you find him?” he asked.

“No,” Devon growled. The waves of anger rolling off him had Shiloh’s knees shaking. He could smell blood, and if he didn’t find the other wolf, then it meant he had taken his aggression out on one of the other wolves in the pack. He looked around the bedroom before stepping closer to Shiloh. “You’ll keep that window locked and not open it until we find this other wolf, do you understand me?”

“I do,” Shiloh quickly replied. He squeaked in surprise when the man reached out and grabbed him by the throat. 

Devon jerked the small omega around before he bit at the scent gland on his neck, which made Shiloh yelp in pain. Then he tossed him to the floor, growling down at his crumpled body. Devon didn’t know who this alpha was, or what had brought him on so suddenly, but it had to have something to do with his omega. Why else would he have lurked just outside the window? 

“This fucking alpha thinks he come here and steal my omega,” he growled. “You’re _mine_ , do you understand?”

Shiloh nodded and curled away from him, but the alpha only left, slamming the door behind him. Shiloh sat up slowly, rubbing his throat, before he finally stood. Quickly he finished putting his room back together before he dropped down into bed and closed his eyes.

There was no way the alpha was after _him_. Yes, he had probably been attracted to his scent through the window, he was an alpha after all, and would have little interest in the beta wolves in the pack. But a weak omega? Shiloh might as well have a neon sign over his head.

No, it was just an alpha-dominance thing. They had looked at each for only a couple of seconds, and Shiloh didn’t even remember his name. Why on earth would someone pursue another person after such a short meeting that involved eye contact and terrified trembling?

This alpha was big, strong, he could have anyone he wanted, so why go around stalking a half-starved, pathetically broken omega who was already in a pack?

_Why? Why? Why???_

Shiloh rolled over, and continued to try to convince himself that his paranoia was irrational. Eventually he fell asleep, but it was restless, and he woke several times after tossing and turning aggressively. Once he jerked upright, gasping and sweating, as he listened to what he swore was a werewolf howl.

But when he looked out the window all he saw was an empty street.

In the morning he got up, joining the pack in their usual morning routines. He sat at the island with his cereal, ignoring the others as they ate steak and eggs and chatted aggressively about the stalking alpha wolf.

“Maybe it’s the moon cycle,” Ben suggested. “Lots of wolves get big boners when the full moon is close. Especially since most of them suck and can’t change without its help.”

Shiloh, his back to everyone, rolled his eyes. Up until last year Ben was one of those people. Shiloh had learned fast to transform on his own, out of desperation to survive his first horrible couple years in the pack, but Devon had beaten it into him that he did not, and would not, become a wolf without permission or the full moon.

Thinking about it made his chest hurt. It was unnatural for a werewolf, who could shed their skin without the moon’s assistance, to stay hidden as a human for as long as Shiloh had. It made him sick, and sometimes he would lose himself in dreams of deep, hidden forests, running as a silver wolf through the moonlight. Once or twice he had even woken up in his wolf skin. He had almost gone to Devon afterwards, to beg him to allow him to change and run as a wolf, but quickly he snuffed out those ideas.

He had been dealing with it for so long now that what was the point of trying to change it? Devon would never go for it, fuck he wouldn’t even hear him out! So he just kept his head low and his wolf tucked deep inside himself.

He rubbed his hand over the gland on his neck, which still hurt from last night. All werewolves, like wolves, have scent glands in places to either mark territory or mates, or attract mates. An alpha’s glands were the most potent, and the more powerful the alpha the more they smelled. The betas all smelled neutral, and Shiloh… he had been told he smelled like an eager slut.

Always comforting.

He stirred his soggy cereal before he gave up on eating. He stood and rinsed his bowl before turning around. Devon was staring at him.

“Is it safe for me to go for a walk?” he asked.

Devon leaned back. “Come here.”

He hesitated a heartbeat before walking over to him. The alpha grabbed his wrist, jerked him down, and bit his scent gland again, before rubbing over it with his own.

It fucking burned, and Shiloh hated it. He whined painfully and had to steel himself from pulling away. Only when Devon felt that Shiloh smelled enough of him, did he shove the omega away.

“Get lost,” he growled.

Shiloh, with his hand clamped over his neck, grabbed his shoes and rushed outside.

He sat on the front steps in the morning sunlight, shakily pulling on his sneakers. He rubbed at his neck again, absolutely hating it when Devon would aggressively scent-mark him. His alpha’s scent was harsh and bitter, leaving a bad taste in his mouth and stained on his skin. He hated it. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the last time Devon had gone into rut last year, Shiloh had smelled so much like aggressive, possessive alpha male that humans had avoided him even after Devon’s rut had ended.

Shoes on and hair back, Shiloh left the house and, instead of walking, started to jog. He left the block and toned out the world, running until his legs burned and he was sweaty. He was far from his territory, but did it really matter? There were humans everywhere here, going on with their morning business. They were drinking fancy coffees and having breakfast and brunch; they chatted about their jobs, love lives, weekend plans. 

When he was out of breath he stopped at a bench sitting in front of a landmark statue and sat down re-tie his shoes and catch his breath. He pulled his hair free and shook it out, before coming his fingers through the knots.

The rumbling of a motorcycle made him jump, and he turned his head toward it. The Harley was big and red, with two women riding it. He calmed down and looked away, reminding himself that he needed to work on being so damn jumpy.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something across the street, just inside a cluster of trees around a private park. He squinted, staring into the shadows, when the shadow moved.

Werewolf. There was a big black werewolf, in broad daylight, just across the four-lane road from him. He couldn’t smell it, and now he couldn’t see it, but he knew he was being watched.

Heart in his throat, Shiloh slowly stood. He knew it was suicide to run from big predators, but his frightened omega brain could only come up with that solution.

So he bolted. He could see the shadow across the street running too, until it reached the edge of the trees and then it stopped, and he was able to cut through traffic and take a shortcut home.

When he got there the others were all gone for work, and he sat on the front steps, breathing heavy and shaking.

Running from alpha wolves was stupid, so stupid, it was what put him in this situation to begin with.

“I guess I never learn,” he muttered to himself.

He sat there until he was relatively calm, and no longer stunk like fear, before going inside. If he acted and smelled suspiciously it would only attract Devon’s bad attention, so it was best that he just look tired after his workout and not because he had been running away from a wolf that was probably outside the house somewhere right now.

Shiloh stopped in the kitchen for water and a snack, which was difficult, because none of this food was his and if he ate someone else’s they would come after him. But when he saw Darrel had leftover chicken wings… well… he did buy them. 

Grabbing one out of the container he headed up to his bedroom, eating it as he walked. He opened the door and dropped the water bottle, which rolled across the floor.

Devon was sitting on his bed. “Shiloh.”

He frowned worriedly. “What’s wrong? Did he come back?”

“No,” Devon said as he stood slowly, and circled the omega. “Will he?”

“H-How should I know?” 

Devon reached out, his hand groping the omega’s soft ass and then drifting up to grip his short ponytail. “You’re beautiful, Shiloh, don’t act like all other males don’t want you on your knees. Any alpha that sees you is going to try to take you from me.”

Shiloh bit his tongue when Devon jerked on his hair. “I-I don’t know anything about that.”

“If I have to, I’ll lock you in the basement until all this passes,” he threatened with a slow growl.

“No—!” He gasped as he tried to twist away. “Don’t put me back down there.”

Devon pulled harder. “So you’re telling me that you know nothing of this alpha that has been breaking the territory lines?”

“No,” he said. “I haven’t seen another werewolf around here since you killed that last alpha. No one—dares to come here!”

He laughed before releasing him. “Kissing my ass won’t save you from my teeth, Shiloh.”

He bowed his head. “I swear, I haven’t seen anyone around here.”

Lying to Devon was dangerous, but the alpha wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. Seemingly satisfied, he finally nodded and left, slamming the door behind him. Shiloh slumped down onto the bed, hands on his hair as he pulled it out of the ponytail. Devon had nearly pulled a chunk of hair out of his head and he rubbed it until the pain stopped.

When he looked up and out the window, he could feel that he was being watched. When he turned his attention to his closed bedroom door, he also felt like he was being watched. There were alphas on either side of him, watching him, and he had no idea why the fuck he was worth so much trouble. All he wanted was to be left alone.


	3. PART ONE - Chapter Three

“He was back.”

“Are you _fucking kidding me_.”

Shiloh woke to loud voices and what sounded like a chair being smashed, and then another chair, and then the sound of boots pounding up the stairs before his bedroom door flew open. He didn’t get a chance to sit up before his alpha had him by the throat, was dragging him from the bed, and pinning him to the floor.

If he wasn’t already awake, then the impact from Devon’s hand did it. He grunted, tasting blood from a cut inside his cheek, and looked up.

“Do you know anything about this alpha, Shiloh?” Devon snarled as he hit him again. 

“No,” he gasped. It had been three days since he had seen the werewolf at the park and he had foolishly thought maybe it was over with, that the other alpha had moved on. 

“He’s a coward,” Devon snapped, bringing his hand down again. “He’s a fucking coward. I don’t know what he wants, but he won’t get it.”

 _Me, I think he wants me._ At this point Shiloh would have gone with the strange alpha, just because how could things get any worse? “You’ll kill him,” he said, “you’ve killed all the others.”

Devon leaned back with a sneer. His omega’s face was bloody, all the healing that happened overnight irrelevant now as new bruises blossomed and blood was smeared across his face. He grasps Shiloh’s chin, forcing him to look him in the eyes.

“Remember that, omega,” he threatened with a deep, rumbling growl. 

He could only shakily nod. Devon then stood, giving the crumpled younger man a swift kick to the ribs, before he left. Shiloh laid there, curled up on the old shag rug, breathing heavily as blood continued to run from his nose. Finally he sat up, staring hatefully at the closed door.

“I hope I’m still alive when he kills you,” he hissed under his breath. Seeing no point in going back to sleep, he got up and started his day. He had the day off from Leonardo’s and he hoped he could get out of the house and away from the tension of the pack.

He cleaned up his face, covered up the bruises the best he could, and took some time to check all his injuries from the previous night, before dressing and grabbing his backpack, which had what little money he had to himself in it.

Shiloh slowly walked down the stairs and passed through the kitchen where Heath was, sitting with an ice pack on his face. There were two completely destroyed bar stools on the floor and one had blood on it. He smirked, it felt better knowing that he wasn’t the only one who was beaten up today. 

“The fuck you looking at?” snarled the beta.

“Not a damn thing,” he said with a shrug. “I’m going out.”

“I don’t fucking care,” he growled.

“Where?” demanded Ben as he walked in, nursing a broken arm.

“The coffee shop,” Shiloh said. He turned away from the two betas and left the house. He knew he should tell his alpha, especially if that werewolf had been back, but he wasn’t breaking his pattern. He went out every morning, he just planned on being out for a little longer today, at least until everyone had left for work. 

When he stepped outside he paused. Devon’s heavy musk was everywhere, but he could smell it: the other alpha werewolf. He certainly had been here, and he had pissed all over. Shiloh couldn’t stop himself from snorting, because it was kind of hilarious in a twisted, worrisome way. This strange alpha was totally fuckingn with Devon. He had marked the cars, the mailbox, the front door, everything but the actual territory lines. When he walked by the shrubbery on the corner he could smell the werewolf’s heavy scent, and he could see bits of black fur caught in the foliage from his coat.

There was also a paw print in the mud. A fucking huge pawprint, and Shiloh almost stopped and went back into the house. He crouched and hovered his hand over the impression in the mud. The print was bigger than his hand, a lot bigger, with claws that had dug deep into the mud. He leaned closer and sniffed. The scent glands in the paws of alpha wolves were extremely potent, and he could clearly smell the wolf. When he looked up, he saw that the werewolf had raked his claws over the light pole, marking it much like a bear might a tree.

When he stopped around the corner just under his window, he craned his head up. The scent was especially heavy here, so the alpha had definitely been outside his window last night. No wonder Devon had stormed in and dragged him to the ground.

He sighed. Things were just going to get worse and worse, weren’t they? What was going to happen when it all came to a head and imploded? The only thing he was positive about was that when it did, he would be bleeding.

Shiloh started walking, adjusting his bag on his back and leaving the neighborhood. It was warm, and soon he wrapped his flannel shirt around his waist, leaving him in an old Vampire Weekend t-shirt and blue jeans. He walked to The Bean’s Knees, a locally owned coffee shop that wasn’t too hipster or expensive. Along with their fancy coffees they made specialty cupcakes and muffins. The cupcakes were one of the few things that Shiloh let himself occasionally splurge on.

Today he felt like he deserved a cupcake. Or five.

The door of the shop dinged as he stepped inside, and immediately stepped into line. As he waited he browsed the menu, seeing that they had expanded their menu to include handmade breakfast sandwiches (which would explain why he had smelled bacon just outside.) He thought about trying one, but he had his heart set on a cupcake. Maybe he could get a sandwich to go. When he finally reached the counter he ordered an iced vanilla coffee and a strawberries and cream cupcake, took his number after paying, and went to find somewhere quiet to sit. What he found instead was another werewolf.

Shiloh tensed up as he locked eyes with the other young werewolf. Brilliant, vibrant green eyes widened, and the young man stared at him in surprise. He was short and delicate like himself, with an nonthreatening atmosphere surrounding him.

He was cute and looked healthy, unlike Shiloh who was far too thin and pale. He had very lightly tanned skin, long black hair that was pulled back into a braid, big green eyes and beautiful lips. He was wearing cut-off jean shorts, combat boots, and a tank top that had a rainbow peacock on the front.

Shiloh took a step back, ready to sit on the other side of the shop, when the other werewolf waved at him.

 _What could he want with me?_ he thought as he worriedly chewed his lip. He knew he shouldn’t go over, he was not supposed to talk with other werewolves, omega or not. But when the other young man stood, Shiloh knew he wasn’t going to get out of talking to him. So with a little sigh, he crossed the floor and sat down across from him.

Before the other werewolf could speak, he asked a bit sharply, “What do you want?”

Instead of looking provoked or affronted, the omega grinned and said, “You _are_ cute.”

Shiloh sat straighter in surprise. “I’m-I’m sorry?”

The stranger motioned around his face, “But you’re a little bruised up. Your alpha do that to you?”

Shiloh felt the color drain from his face and his stomach drop like a rock. He sat staring for a few seconds, his brain blundering for a reaction, when the other omega seemed to realize just what he had said, and quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry, that was fucking rude of me,” he quickly said. “My name is Fenton.”

“What do you want?” he repeated, this time with more force. His face was burning and he wanted to leave. It felt like everyone was watching them, but a quick look around discredited that idea. But he couldn’t help but feel like this was some kind of set-up. Was Devon watching him? Or Heath, or Ben? What if this was a trap?

“I don’t want anything from you,” Fenton said, interrupting his thoughts, and lowering his soft voice to a more gentle tone. “Therus said—“

“Therus?”

_“Hey, Therus?”_

Shiloh stood so quickly he almost knocked over the barista who was bringing him his order. “ _Your_ alpha—“ he gasped. Of course! This was a trap, but not the one he had originally thought. This omega belonged to the alpha that had been stalking around his territory.

Fenton was on his feet in a flash and around the table to stop Shiloh from bolting. He gently grabbed Shiloh’s wrists, his grip firm, but not so hard that Shiloh couldn’t pull away if he wanted to. “Calm down,” he encouraged as he gently stroked his thumbs over the scent glands hidden in Shiloh’s wrists. “Breathe, okay? Breathe.”

With the omega’s gentle grip, and his lulling scent, Shiloh slowly calmed down. He allowed the other man to pulled him back to the table and sit back down, but this time they sat next to each other. They sat looking at each for a second, Shiloh searching the other wolf’s green eyes for anything malevolent. Finally he looked away, turning his attention to his order. He took a slow drink of his iced coffee, his hand shaking the entire time, as Fenton simply sat, holding his other hand, his thumb rubbing over his wrist in slow circles.

Which was strangely soothing and dissolved some of his uneasiness. It also didn’t burn like contact from his own pack. He looked at him again, frowning this time, because the omega was affecting him so strongly and he couldn’t figure out how or why. He had met other omegas before, but it had always been in awful situations with other packs, when they were all under extreme duress and stress. Now he… he could almost breathe easy.

“Are you okay now?” Fenton asked gently. He looked genuinely concerned. When he leaned close Shiloh could easily smell him over the scent of coffee and baked goods; soft and clean, with a touch of lavender.

“You don’t smell like your alpha,” Shiloh suddenly said. He _could_ smell the alpha, but it was more like an after-thought.

“Hmm? Why would I?” But he frowned, because he knew that that was all the frightened omega smelled like: his abusive alpha, and his own blood. “What’s your name?”

He looked up, staring into those green eyes, and he suddenly felt like sobbing. “Shiloh.”

“I’m not here to hurt you, Shiloh.”

“And your alpha?”

“He won’t either.”

“Why is he hunting me, then?” he asked as he pulled his hand away from Fenton’s so he could rub at his eyes. He wasn’t going to cry here, in the middle of a public place, with a stranger. He picked up his coffee and took another long drink.

“He’s not… okay, he is hunting,” Fenton admitted as he picked up his hot tea. “But he isn’t going to hurt you. He was… intrigued by you.”

“After two seconds in a 7-Eleven?” he asked in disbelief.

“You left an impression,” Fenton said with a smile. He threaded his fingers through Shiloh’s silver hair, and slowly touched over the heavy scar tissue on the back of his neck, and when the other omega didn’t growl or move away, he trailed his fingers down to the gland on his neck. 

When Fenton gently rubbed his thumb there, Shiloh couldn’t stop his eyes from closing and almost learned into the contact. It felt good, and he wanted more of it. But instead he pulled away, a pink blush on his face.

“Is that why you’re here? You’re what, spying on me?”

“Actually I’m here because I wanted a cupcake,” he answered honestly. “When you walked in, and I smelled you, I couldn’t believe it. Therus wouldn’t let me near your territory, saying it was too dangerous. And you ran out of the 7-Eleven so fast that I didn’t even see you, but I had smelled your alpha on Therus when he came home.”

“I’m so confused,” he confessed. He glanced at the other omega before using his fork to split the cupcake down the middle and offering him half. “I’m not worth this trouble, I promise. I’m just an ass to fuck and body to beat. I’m nothing—“

Fenton stared at him, eyes wide and jaw slack. He blinked a couple of times before saying, “Jesus, you don’t actually believe that, do you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he hissed quietly. “It’s been my life for five years. When I go home tonight, he’ll punish me all over again. It’ll probably be worse this time because I’m going to smell like you and-and I’m not supposed to talk with wolves outside my pack.”

“Then don’t go home.”

Shiloh turned to him. “What?”

“Leave them. Fuck them all. Come home with me.”

Shiloh shook his head as he leaned away. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Fenton asked while leaning in close. The frightened omega smelled so much of his alpha that Fenton couldn’t detect his own scent at all, not without smelling or licking his scent glands. “Shiloh, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“You could be lying,” he said as panic and dread made him sick. He stood, and this time was pulling away from the other wolf. “Stay away from me. Do-don’t ever come here again. Tell your alpha that I don’t want him.”

He ran out of the shop, ignoring Fenton as he called after him. He ran all the way home, adrenaline spiked with fear making his strides longer. He knew when he got there what would happen to him. It didn’t matter what he did or said. He would take his punishment. He was their bitch, nothing would change that. And he had no reason to trust Fenton’s offer. Shiloh had seen other alpha wolves when Devon invited over other packs. They were all the same abusive monster.

And if scent told him anything, then Therus was the biggest monster he had ever come across. It made sense that he would use a sweet, non-intimidating omega to try to lure in other wolves. They most likely had some kind of deal worked out, where Fenton was the bait to bring Therus new omegas to beat, rape, and kill. Maybe he and Devon were secretly working together...

As he stood in front of the house he realized just how fucked up and paranoid he was. He was completely broken; he really was Devon’s perfect little bitch. He had been given the chance to leave the pack, and no one would have ever known better, and he had turned and ran home. 

He curled his hands into fists and stood staring down at his feet. He didn’t want to be this way. He _hated_ Devon and the pack. He had no idea how werewolf life was outside his pack and those that Devon kept alliances with. The only time he saw other omegas was when they were being traded around by alphas, or in public when he knew to stay away from them. He had no idea how an actual pack was supposed to function.

But he was damn sure that the way Devon ran his pack was not normal. It couldn’t be. This could not be the norm. He had seen other werewolves in the city, and they were… like normal people. They probably even went out during the full moon to sing…

Tears started to fall down his face. He had never sang with his wolf-voice during the full moon, Devon didn’t allow him to howl. Fuck, sometimes he didn’t even let them out of the house during the moon, depending on his level of bloodlust. Shiloh frowned, choking on a little cry. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt grass under his paws and moonlight in his fur.

He lifted his wrist to his nose, inhaling Fenton’s soft scent. He hadn’t been lying, had he? His scent was too sweet, too pure for him to have been lying. He felt tears burning his eyes as the weight of his mistake hit him.

The door to the house opened, and Devon stepped outside. There was a fury in his eyes, and Shiloh’s fight or flight kicked in. He stepped back as the alpha stepped forward, and without thinking twice, he turned and ran.

…

Shiloh was shoved onto his back, and he lay looking at the ceiling through blurred eyes. There was a thick, bitter taste in his mouth, and he turned his head to spit. He heard laughter around him, and he turned his head back, scowling at the men surrounding him.

Heath and Ben had blood on their lips and were smiling, Darrel looked hesitant at least and had stepped back, while Jacob had a massive, perverted grin on his face and his jeans were still pulled down enough to free his cock. Shiloh’s mouth tasted like the beta’s cum and his jaw felt out of place. He wanted to rub it, he wanted to throw up, but if he moved too fast, they would attack him again. Devon had given them permission, they were going to hurt him for as long as they wanted.

“You’ll think twice before trying to leave again, won’t you?” Jacob sneered.

“Fuck, after today, he’ll only smell like us. No one will ever approach him again!” Heath said as he stood over the omega. He started to rub himself through his jeans, ready for his turn. “Maybe we should carve it into his face.”

Devon growled from where he sat on the sofa. “I like his face, but feel free to do it to the rest of him.”

Shiloh jolted somewhat. “I wasn’t going to leave,” he gasped for the millionth time. It was a lie, but lying to his pack had saved him from cruel punishments in the past, so he did it now, even with the odds against him.

“Then why run?” asked another.

Running hadn’t been the smartest idea, but he also hadn’t thought on it, just reacted on instinct. He had reached the end of the block before Devon caught him, dragged him back to the house, and spent a full two minutes smelling him before viciously biting him and covering up Fenton’s scent. Then he had pinned him on his belly while biting his neck and back, asking who the omega was, and more importantly, who the alpha was. For hours he had hurt him, in various ways, until the rest of the pack was home from work.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I was scared—“

“You don’t think I know by now when you’re lying?” Devon said, his voice low and heavy, the threat there so potent that the betas backs away. He stood and circled the prone omega slowly. “I know you, Shiloh, more than you know yourself. I _fucking made you_.”

He closed his eyes against memories he did not want to deal with right now. But Devon crouched over him, grabbed him by his throat and forced him to look up at him. He ran his other hand down Shiloh’s chest, over open, bleeding wounds. He curled his claws into one particular deep bite.

“You’re mine,” he said with a grin. “You’ll always be mine, and I’ll never let you forget that. Those scars on your leg are from my teeth,” he said, as if Shiloh needed to be reminded. “You tasted so good. You were so young and supple and _so_ goddamn sweet.”

Shiloh closed his eyes, the memory hitting him hard. He had made the mistake of telling his highly religious and paranoid mother that he was gay, and as a resault had been thrown out of his house and shunned by the rest of his family. He had found his way into the city, and had been staying in an homeless shelter while he tried to figure out what the fuck to do. He was sixteen, homeless, scared out of his mind and questioning everything he had ever been told in his life. Then, one evening, he had met a man.

Handsome would be an understatement; he was drop-dead gorgeous, or Shiloh had thought so at the time. Devon had been suave, flirty, had offered to buy him dinner and help him find a better place to live. Foolishly Shiloh had believed him, easily swayed by the man’s kindness and alluring smile. 

But instead of helping him, Devon had driven them out to an open field, raped him in the backseat, then purposely let him run just so he could transform into a massive, ruddy-red wolf and hunt him down and maul him. Shiloh had laid naked and bleeding, sobbing in a field of wheatgrass under a clear sky full of stars. The wolf had continued to bite at him, taunting him, hurting him, and by the end of the night, Shiloh’s life was a nightmare. 

“I was sixteen!” he screamed angrily. “You had no right!”

Devon jerked back, shock on his face. Shiloh had never yelled back; he had broken into submission easily and immediately. But now, seeing his pack’s omega not only scream at him in defiance, but _bear his teeth_ —

Devon hit him but Shiloh didn’t care. He growled, shaking all over from years of pent-up anger and pain, and showed his teeth again. He was tired of it; he was done with the abuse and the rape and the threats. If it meant he died at the hands of his pack for his rebellion, then so be it. He would rather die than continue to live this way.

His growl grew louder and when Devon tried to bite him, Shiloh bit first.

Blood filled his mouth and the alpha jumped to his feet, his hand pressed over the chunk missing out of his neck. Shiloh spit out the flesh and snarled through sharp, bloody teeth. Everyone had taken a step back and Shiloh scooted away, his back to the wall. Now cornered and surrounded he felt a flare up of desperation. 

Looks of surprise were exchanged between the beta wolves and Devon had never looked so furious. “You little fu—“

The entire pack went silent, including Devon who turned to the front door. They waited, breaths held, until the sound came again.

There was no doubting the sound of an alpha wolf’s howl. Low and baritone, the sound literally vibrating through the walls. The beta wolves began to shift nervously and Devon jolted in anger.

Shiloh could only lie on the ground, the intensity of one simple howl enough to weaken him to absolute submission and snuff out any rebellious intentions he may have had. He whined and covered his ears.

“Devon?” asked Heath nervously, “What do we do?”

The man was already stripping out of the rest of his clothing, preparing to transform into his wolf skin. First he pointed at Shiloh. “Take that bitch down to the basement and chain him up for later,” he ordered. There was blood on his neck and shoulder, and when he smiled at Shiloh it was with all sharp teeth. “After I kill this bastard, we’ll celebrate. Won’t we, Shiloh?”

Shiloh growled softly when he was grabbed, but another challenging howl from the wolf outside had him feeling boneless and weak. And it was that: a challenge. Shiloh didn’t need to be in his wolf shape to hear it, the wolf outside was itching for a fight.

He didn’t fight as he was dragged to the basement door. During his first year in the pack Shiloh had lived down there, chained up, unable to see sunlight or moonlight, while he was starved, beaten and assaulted daily.

Ben opened the door and shoved Shiloh down the stairs. He hit the dirt at the bottom with a grunt and a gasp. He started to push to his feet when the beta grabbed him and threw him into the wall, and everything was fuzzy and black, and he hit the ground.

It smelled the same down here; all musky and dampness with rat droppings and mold. Dizziness washed over him and when he opened his eyes, and saw he was back in the closet. His tiny cell; his prison for a year. The chain was back around his ankle and the steel door locked.

He let out a frustrated sob. He clawed at the chain, but it was reinforced and made to keep werewolves captive. If he tried to transform now he would lose his foot, and unlike what the movies showed, body parts did not grow back.

Shiloh threw his head back, screaming in anger. He pounded his fists against the door, barely managing to even dent it. When he stopped and looked around he saw the claw marks from years ago were still carved into the door and walls from his claws.

Funny how things changed so quickly. His life with this pack had happened in a literal evening, and now over the course of just over a week, his life with them was falling to pieces. Not that he had ever liked it here, not that he had ever been safe here; he had never been happy. But he had done what he needed to survive, now all that had unraveled. Life would never be the same. If the pack succeeded in killing or chasing Therus off, and they came back to pull him out of the cell, he would never have the same life he did before. This time, they would break him, and he knew, _he knew_ , Devon would never let him die. Which meant life before this moment had been a vacation.

Tears burned his eyes as he clawed at the walls and the door, but the wolfsbane-infused chain on his ankle stopped him from even sitting up completely, keeping him constantly at a disadvantage. Devon might be a monster, but he was clever, he knew exactly how to break a person’s spirit.

When he finally gave up, he sat back against the wall, just listening. He wasn’t hopeful by the silence. It was possible the fight was taking place outside, but shouldn’t he be able to hear it? Shouldn’t he to able to hear howls of victory or the snarls of defeat? He whined, the sound broken, and threw his head back and let out a sob.

He did not expect an answer, but there was one, and it was not from any of his packmates. The deep, rumbling howl definitely came from inside the house—he pinpointed it to the basement stairs. Shiloh gasped in surprise and curled up in the corner, again finding himself so affected by the power behind the howl that he almost couldn’t breathe.

There were heavy footsteps outside the door and soon something was sniffing at it, then growling. Shiloh covered his ears as the metal creaked and groaned from an impact. A rumbling growl filled the basement and Shiloh let out a terrified whimper. There was nowhere to go, nothing to do but sit and watch as the door was peeled away and thrown to the ground with a loud bang. 

Shiloh craned his head up, staring up into the darkness, which took the shape of a massive bipedal black werewolf with piercing blue eyes. The alpha stared down at him a fierce intensity, before his lips pulled back into a growl.

Shiloh took one deep breath, and fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaand that's the end of part one! I said it was kind of stupid to break it up into three short chapters, but *shrugs* Part Two will be longer and the chapters longer with more... everything. I only just started writing part two, so it might be a while before I share it. But I am really, really excited. Therus is just so big and sweet and Fenton, well, he's kind of a little shit lol.
> 
> Thanks for reading xoxo


	4. PART TWO - Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are the best! Thanks for all your wonderful comments xoxo

When Shiloh opened his eyes, he found himself in a large bed that was definitely not his. He raised his head from the pillow, eyes sweeping through the room. Sunlight was pouring through the curtains, and he could hear a bird singing over the noise of the city. Above him lazily turned a ceiling fan. The walls were white, and there was a large antique mirror on one wall. Decorating above a large dresser were an assortment of animal skulls. On the dresser were stacked books, an old globe, and a wooden box. Next to the bed was a nightstand with a lamp on it and another book. The bedroom was complimented by several green houseplants, adding color to it’s black, white, and gold color scheme.

Shiloh sat up to realize that not only was he naked, but he was bandaged, and someone had brushed his hair and braided it. He frowned, reaching back to touch it, when the shock first hit him. It had to be because he had been lying here for hours that he didn’t notice it when he first woke up, but now he did; now he smelled it and he couldn’t stop from shaking.

He was in that alpha’s bed. Therus. This was his bedroom, and Shiloh was naked in his bed.

He sucked in a loud breath, looking around for either clothes or a way out, when the door opened. He pulled the blankets up over his chest and pulled his knees close and a young man walked into the bedroom.

It was the omega from the coffee shop. “F-Fenton?” he asked hoarsely.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Fenton said quietly, gently, as he stepped into the bedroom. “How are you feeling?”

He was about to start sobbing, and he hated that. He hadn’t cried this much in years. “Where am I?”

“Home,” Fenton answered. He smiled gently and sat on the bed. When he reached out for Shiloh’s hand, the other omega didn’t flinch or pull away. “You’re safe here.”

“Why am I in his bed then?”

“It’s bigger and more comfortable than mine,” Fenton said, “and better than the couch. If you decide to stay after you’re all healed up, we’ll make room for you. Until then you can bunk with me. I’ll warn you now, I’m a snuggler. Therus calls me a koala in the bed.”

He blinked rapidly in confusion. “If I decide to stay?”

Fenton tilted his head. “Yeah? You’re not being forced to join the pack. Therus… he had to get you out of that place. What you decide to do after you’re healed up is your decision.”

Shiloh sniffled and frowned. “I don’t understand,” he said brokenly.

“Maybe you’ll think better after some breakfast.”

He looked back to the window and the sunlight flowing through it. “What time is it?”

“Almost ten.”

Shiloh started. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Like… fourteen hours?” Fenton said as he stood. He went to the closet and started to go through the clothing, before he selected a large grey hoodie with a NASA logo, and then went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts. “Therus’ clothes are going to be too big, but they’ll be more comfortable than mine for right now.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” he said as he was handed the clothing.

Fenton smirked. “Smell them.” When Shiloh only stared at him, he continued, “Go on. Take a big sniff.”

He did, somewhat perturbed, but the moment he inhaled he felt a jolt of calmness. Therus didn’t smell like Devon at all. His heavy alpha scent was _comforting._ He looked up at Fenton, who was looking at him smugly. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” the other omega sang quietly.

He sat, clutching the clothing, before he turned started to dress. “What happened yesterday?”

Fenton was pretending to examine his fingernails. He hummed. “Therus killed your alpha, scared off your pack, and brought you here.”

Shiloh had stood to pull on the shorts, which were way too big and never going to stay on his bony hips, stumbled and almost hit the floor. “What?” He yelped. “Devon is—is _dead?_ ”

Fenton nodded. “Therus ripped his head off.”

Shiloh felt like he was going to throw up, not because he was grieving, but because he was so overwhelmed. The alpha that had made him, had tortured him for years was fucking dead. He had to sit down, sinking back onto the bed, with his face into his hands. 

When he started to cry, Fenton wrapped his arms around him, pulling the other omega against him. 

“You’re safe, Shiloh,” Fenton soothed, “they’ll never come after you again. And Therus will do the same thing to anyone who tries to hurt you.”

Wrapped up in the alpha’s clothing, and in the embrace of another gentle omega, Shiloh had never felt so warm and, dare he say, hopeful. He leaned back, wiping his hands over his face, and hiccuped, “How do I thank you?”

Fenton took his hands. “You never have to.” 

However, he was having a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that he actually was safe. What was safe? What was he supposed to do here now? He had nothing to offer them, other than his body. He frowned, bowing his head, and taking a deep breath, before he asked, “Who else is in your pack?”

“Just me and Therus,” Fenton said. 

“Seriously?” He scrunched up his face. “How is that possible?”

“He’s very picky,” Fenton said with a little chuckle. “Therus is older than he looks, so he knows what he’s looking for in packmates, and he doesn’t have time for anyone who wastes his time.”

_Two omegas and a big, powerful apha? Sounds like the synopsis of an adult movie._ “So… So what do we do now?”

“We have breakfast because I’m starving.”

Shiloh nodded shakily, taking Fenton’s hand and letting him lead him across the room. The only problem was when they opened the bedroom door to leave, it was being blocked by a large man.

Somehow Therus looked bigger in just a tank top and a pair of sweatpants than he did in his biker gear. He looked like he could be in his mid-thirties, but age with werewolves was tricky given that they aged slower than humans. He was 6’4, fit but not overly bulky, with a long torso and legs. His arms were blissfully bare and strong, with tattoo sleeves covering both. His hair was a little mussed, which softened his face, and his blue eyes were bright in the morning light.

“Everything okay?” he asked. His voice was deep, it was as comforting as his scent, and smooth as warm honey. While the question was directed to Fenton, his blue eyes never left Shiloh.

“Yup,” Fenton said. “I was just telling him about his former alpha.” He glanced back, but Shiloh was staring at the alpha with huge eyes, and had shuffled behind him. Fenton squeezed his hand. “We’re still working on a few things.”

Therus nodded, understanding. “Well, food is ready if you’re hungry.”

With a gentle tug Fenton lead Shiloh out of the bedroom and down the hallway, following Therus through the large, and surprisingly clean apartment, to a spacious open kitchen with an island and separate medium-sized round dining room table and chairs. The table was covered in newspapers and paperwork, and the island was laid out with food, with barstools around it.

There were steaks, fried eggs, hash browns and a bowl of fruit. When Shiloh sees it, he hesitates, hanging back and backing away. Therus looks up, seeing his predicament. “Help yourself,” he says.

Shiloh frowns. “What?”

Fenton, already filling his plate, looked at the other omega softly. “We don’t fight over food here,” he said. 

But Shiloh couldn’t stop looking at Therus. His brain was screaming at him that this was a trap, if he tried to take that food and join them, he would be punished. It was why he always arrived at the table last, it was why he ate cereal, or at the 7-Eleven alone. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Therus, and he couldn’t help but feel the energy in the room that rolled off the large werewolf. He couldn’t do this. They were strangers! He didn’t know them. They could be setting him up to hurt him. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t--

Heart pounding, he turned away and stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. He dropped his face into his hands, emotions swelling up and threatening to pour out of him. He heard footsteps start to follow him, and then Therus quietly saying, “Give him a moment, Fen. It’s still all very new.”

Now he really did want to cry. When he bowed his head, he was met by the heavy, rich scent of alpha wolf. He pulled the sweater up over his nose and inhaled.

And almost immediately calmed down; just enough that he didn’t start to cry in the living room. He still couldn’t bring himself to go back, however, and sat down instead on the couch. He sat, arms around himself and trembling, as he tried listened to warring voices in his head; one screaming at him that this was a trap and he needed to run, the other telling him to calm down and breathe and see what happened next. 

It was a couple minutes later when Fenton came out, carrying with him a plate of food and a cup of coffee.

Shiloh watched, vision blurred by tears, as the man placed the food on the coffee table in front of him. Then Fenton touched his shoulder, smiled softly, and returned to the kitchen without saying a word.

He sat staring at the food for about fifteen seconds before his stomach let out the loudest rumble of his life.

He looked over his shoulder, but he couldn’t them in the kitchen from this angle. He did this three more times before his hunger won and he scooted forward, picking up the plate, which was heaped with hot food. Picking up the fork he cut into the steak, which was tender and juicy.

The first bite was absolute heaven. He sniffled, hand shaking, as he dug into the eggs and potatoes. He couldn’t remember the last time he had had an actual home cooked meal. Probably five years ago, just before he was thrown out of his house by his mother and family.

He fretted, struggling to hold back tears, and he continued to eat until the plate was empty. Then he drank the lukewarm coffee to wash it all down. Plate cleared and mug empty, he set the dishware on the coffee table and sat back, staring at the little crumbs that were left and smeared maple syrup.

He should be full and satisfied, but instead his anxiety was kicking up, making him nauseous. It grew and grew, until he was leaping off the couch, and running down the hallway. Thankfully he had seen the open bathroom door when he passed it and ran in there now, dropping to the floor to vomit in the toilet.

He heaved up everything he had just eaten. It didn’t ease the anxiety, if anything it made it worse. And now he had thrown up all the food he had been given, which _had_ to result in some kind of punishment. He shook, leaning over the toilet again, but there was nothing left to come out.

He finally scooted back, still on his knees, with his head in his hands, when someone stepped around him.

Shiloh jerked his head up with a gasp as Therus flushed the toilet and then sat down on the edge of the bathtub, just inches from where Shiloh knelt on the floor.

“Are you okay?” Therus asked, keeping his voice gentle.

“I’m sorry—“ he blurted out instead.

Therus shook his head. “Don’t be sorry, you did nothing wrong. I understand how overwhelmed you must be feeling right now.” His fingers flexed and he wanted to reach out and touch him, but knew it would only frighten the omega even more. “Are you okay?” He repeated.

“I...I don’t know,” he whispered.

“Is there anything you want from your old home?” Therus asked. 

He frowned, staring at the floor. “No…. There was nothing there I was attached to,” he finally answered.

He nodded and stood. He moved slowly, but Shiloh still leaned away from him in fear. “All right.”

Shiloh watched as the alpha left the room, and he exhaled a shaky breath. He still felt sick, and a little sweaty, so he looked to the shower. He wondered if they would care if he used it? He went to the door which Therus had closed behind him, hand hovering over the handle, before he backed up and pulled the hoodie back up over his nose. He took a deep breath, and felt himself calm just a little. 

Deciding they wouldn’t care, he started the water, stripped, and got into the shower. He didn’t want to use anyone's shampoo or soap, so he just washed himself off and then stepped out. He dried off with a towel he found in the cabinet before pulling the alpha wolf’s clothing back on. 

He was feeling...a little better. Not quite as sick anymore, and he had removed many of the bandages and found that he had healed quite a lot during his sleep, more than he would have thought. In fact, the swelling and bruises on his face were almost gone, and he didn’t look...bad, not bad at all. He sighed.

When he left the bathroom, Fenton was waiting for him, leaning casually back again the hallway wall.

“You okay?” 

“No,” he sighed. “I’m a mess.”

He smiled before holding up a credit card. “Wanna get out of here for a little bit? Do some damage to Therus’ credit card?”

Shiloh frowned. “He… he what?”

“As cute as you would look in my clothes, I don’t think we share the same style,” Fenton said with a grin while gesturing to his attire: tight black shorts, combat boots, and a camouflage crop top. “So let's go shopping.”

“That can’t be… that can’t be okay…”

Fenton reached out, taking Shiloh’s hands. “It’s okay,” he said, “you’re safe here. And I’ll protect you out there. And if you don’t come with, I’m going to buy you nothing but lacey thongs and crop tops.”

Shiloh blushed hotly. “What? No!”

“Oh yes, I absolutely would,” he said with a devilish little grin. “So, are you coming with?”

Shiloh pressed his lips together before sighing. “I don’t have much of a choice, so I?”

“I dunno, I think you’d look hot in a pink thong and thigh-highs—“

“Fen,” Therus sighed from the other room. “Don’t torture him.”

“Mind your own business,” the omega laughed as he dragged Shiloh to his bedroom. “Let’s get you changed so we can go. I haven’t gone shopping in forever.”

Shiloh let himself be pulled into the omega’s bedroom. It was how he expected: bright colors and lots of clutter and personal items. Fenton went to his closet and pulled out a t-shirt and grabbed a pair of skinny jeans. “Try these on.”

He hesitated, but realizing that they had both probably already seen him naked, started to strip. The shirt was a little tight on his shoulders, but the pants were a perfect fit.

“These are so uncomfortable without underwear,” he muttered.

Fenton laughed loudly. “We’ll get you everything you need,” he said as he handed him a pair of socks and sneakers. “It’s gonna be so much fun.”

He sat on the floor to tie the shoes, and found himself blushing. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Maybe I’m this nice to everyone?”

Shiloh squinted at him. No, the omega had a spark in him, Shiloh could tell he was someone he wouldn’t want to piss off, and it wasn’t just because of the giant alpha at his back. He was also a manipulative little shit.

“I doubt that,” he muttered as he brushed his hair and tied it back in a messy, damp bun. Strands of hair framed his face and he tried to tuck them behind his ears.

Fenton laughed and shrugged. He watched as Shiloh stood and picked up Therus’ hoodie, and lifted it to his nose. He smiled. “You can continue to wear it if you want. It’s a little warm out, but we’re going to be in the mall, so you shouldn’t get too hot.”

Shiloh hadn’t even realized what he had done, and when he did, he put his hands and the hoodie down. He shook his head. “No I’ll… I’ll leave it here…” But even as he said it, he couldn’t bring himself to actually let it go. In the end he took Fenton’s advice and tied it around his waist. At least it made him feel a little more comfortable in the insanely snug jeans.

Fenton lead him back through the apartment. Therus was sitting on the couch, his bare feet crossed on the coffee table, watching a soccer game. “Therus,” he hummed, “can I borrow the car?”

He held the keys up. “I figured you would ask that.”

Fenton leaned over to the back of the couch, kissing him on the cheek as he took the car keys. “Need anything?”

“Not unless you’re stopping by Chipotle,” he said, looking back. His eyes landed on Shiloh, who was standing as far back as he could, nervously adjusting the oversized hoodie wrapped around his waist.

“I’ll text if we do,” Fenton said before he turned and grabbed Shiloh’s wrist, pulling him out the door.

Shiloh stole one look back, but Therus was already turned back to the television. He frowned, because once again his brain had short-circuited around the large alpha. Therus seemed so… chill. How was it possible?

“So, what’s your style?” Fenton asked as they took the elevator down.

“I don’t… really have one,” he confessed. “Where are we, anyway?”

“Northwood Apartments,” he answered. 

His eyes widened in surprise, he had noticed that the apartment was nice, but he wouldn’t have guessed it was Northwood. The luxurious high-rise apartment complex was nestled deep downtown, surrounded by the shiny, glowing, silver city. They walked through the lobby, Fenton greeting anyone he saw by name, and then were outside. Shiloh followed Fenton through the private, secured parking garage, and to a sleek black car. “What does Therus do, exactly?”

“He does something with numbers,” he explained badly. “It’s boring.”

Shiloh sat in the passenger seat; the car smelled like wintermint, coffee and wolf. He clipped on the seatbelt and looked at Fenton, who was texting on his phone. “Devon… Devon never worked. We all worked for him. Do you have a job?”

“I do when I feel like it,” Fenton said. “I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

“Your alpha doesn’t care?” he asked in disbelief.

“I’m sure if we needed the money, he would insist I get a job,” Fenton said with a laugh, “and he’s always really good at making sure I stay busy and inspired. I was working as an actor for a while, just local productions, stage plays and stuff, but it got boring after a while. So, I’m on an extended vacation.”

“What about… my job?” Shiloh asked. He didn’t have his phone, his backpack, any of his clothing… Maybe he shouldn’t have told Therus he didn’t want anything from his room. “I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to work today.”

“Did you like that job?” Fenton asked as he drove out the garage and into traffic.

“I didn’t...hate it.”

“But did you _like_ going there?”

“I went there to escape my pack, and to make money for my alpha,” he explained. “So… So no, I guess I didn’t like going there.”

“Then quit!” Fenton said easily. “I think you need to take some time for yourself, Shiloh. Figure out who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to do with your life. Don’t stress over money or bills, or how you’re going to sleep at night. You’re safe, we’ll keep you safe, and we’ll take care of you.”

He swallowed hard. “Why?”

“Well, personally, I like you,” Fenton said, looking at him. “I think we could have a lot of fun together.”

“And your alpha?” he asked quietly. “Why did he save me?”

“You’ll have to ask him,” Fenton said. “I’ve been with Therus for hmm, three years now? And I still don’t completely know him. He does things because he wants to, like most alpha wolves. If you want to know why he went out of his way to save you from your pack, ask him.”

_Yeah, that’s never going to happen._ He sat back, hands gripping the hoodie around his waist. “So, where are we going?” he asked, changing the subject.

...

Fenton glanced at Shiloh as he replied to another text after coming to a stop in the parking lot of a massive shopping mall. Shiloh was right about one thing: he was a mess. But that wasn’t his fault, and hopefully they could help him break out of his shell and heal mentally and physically. As for why Therus had been so insistent on saving Shiloh, well, Fenton was not going to tell the omega anything. If Shiloh wanted to know, he was going to have to confront Therus himself.

“Okay,” he said as he shoved his phone in his pocket. “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Shiloh replied nervously.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be some all-day shopping mess,” Fenton said. “We just need to get you some basic necessities and some clothes. Then we’ll go back home, sound good?”

At the other omega’s nod, he smiled, and the two got out of the car and walked together through the parking lot. He had a couple of goals for the day, one was getting Shiloh clothes and whatever else he needed, but he also needed to get him to eat, and maybe unwind a little. He should have expected him to get sick after eating, but it hadn’t even crossed his mind at the time, he was too busy hoping he could get the other omega to relax a little, without taking his past trauma into account. He felt guilty about that. They were throwing so much at him at once, and while Shiloh was seemingly holding together, he was still so incredibly broken. So, a trip to the mall it was, surrounded by plenty of humans, exits, and hopefully no alpha wolves to frighten him.

Knowing that if he tried to buy the other omega food he would be embarrassed and possibly offended, left him strategizing his next move. Thankfully this mall had a massive food court, and snacks were easy to come by. Without saying anything he went straight for a pretzel vendor and bought a large one.

He made sure to pick a couple chunks off, popping them into his mouth, as he walked back to Shiloh. “Want a bite?” he asked, offering the food.

And when Shiloh ripped off a chunk and ate it, Fenton gave himself a mental high-five. He ripped the remaining pretzel in half and shared it with the silver-haired young man, who ate it without question.

It was then that he realized that Therus had been right, his presence did affect Shiloh greatly. His scent was comforting to the omega, but being around the actual alpha caused him all kinds of dread and anxiety. All Fenton could hope to do was get Shiloh to trust him, and then work on him trusting a big alpha wolf.

Fenton was the first to admit that Therus could be scary as fuck. When he transformed into his werewolf skin he was a eight-foot tall killing machine, and being on the wrong side of his teeth was absolutely terrifying. But there was so much more to the man, an incredible amount more. Fenton loved him as his alpha, but more important as his friend. 

He directed them to Target first and grabbed a big red cart. “All right,” he said, “let’s get the basics.”

Shiloh hesitated. “I...I have my own money.”

“No, you don’t,” Fenton said as he turned to him. “That bag-of-dicks you had for an alpha took everything you had. Just let me buy you a toothbrush, okay?”

Shiloh blushed and bit his lip. “I guess that’s… I mean, I do need that, I suppose.”

“I’ll share just about anything with you, but not my toothbrush,” he said with a grin. 

They ended up getting more than just a toothbrush, and as time went on, Shiloh started to loosen up. Fenton took a moment to hit up Starbucks, buying them each a sugar, caffeine-bombed drink, which really perked up the other omega. After buying essentials, bathroom toiletries and underwear and socks, they left Target, and headed for Fenton’s favorite clothing store.

Shiloh, sipping on his chocolate cookie frappuccino, walked around the clothing wracks, Fenton just behind him. “I only need a couple of shirts and stuff,” he said, “you don’t have to buy me like, a lot of anything.”

“I want to though,” Fenton said cheerfully. He picked out a pair of black, ripped jeans. They were more of a bootcut, and wouldn’t be quite as tight as what he was wearing now. “How about these?”

Shiloh chewed on the straw. “For me?”

“Well, I’d probably borrow them,” he said with a grin. “Come on, cute, right?”

“I mean, yeah,” he said with a nervous little step. “I’m just… I mean I always just wore sweatpants at home.”

“We can get those, too,” Fenton said, “but your legs will look great in these.”

He blushed. “Okay… Okay, let’s find just a couple things.”

…

Shiloh helped load the bags into the trunk before getting into the car with Fenton. They had shopped a lot, he had more clothes than he ever had before. Along with a new backpack, an extremely nice one that Fenton insisted on buying him, and a couple pairs of new shoes. They had looked at hoodies, but whenever he thought of buying one and replacing the alpha’s....he couldn’t.

Fenton had chuckled at him, like he knew something Shiloh didn’t, but had refused to explain.

“Okay,” Fenton said as he pulled out his phone. “We’re stopping at Chipotle to bring home supper. How do you like your burrito?”

He felt his face flush, but for a different reason. He swallowed hard and curled his fingers into his jeans. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“What? Chipotle? Fuck yes, it’s delicious,” he said before glancing at Shiloh, who looked like he was going to cry. Then he remembered what happened at breakfast. “You were just nervous--”

“I was terrified,” he cut in, as tears ran down his face. “I’m-I’m still terrified, Fen. I don’t know... what to do.”

Fenton frowned and immediately flipped on the blinker and pulled the car over. He put it in park and turned to the other omega. “Sweetie,” he said gently, “I know you’re scared. I would be, too. And I know that I come on a little strong, and all this is happened really fast, but I just… I want you to know that neither of us is going to hurt you.”

“I’m starting to...maybe see that,” he said quietly as he struggled to reign in his emotions. “I’m sorry.”

Fenton reached over, running his hand through Shiloh’s soft hair. “Everybody cries.”

He snorted and laughed. “Thanks for that.”

“So, burritos?” Fenton asked as he pulled back into traffic.

“Sure, burritos,” he said as he sat back, trying to relax. He closed his eyes, breathing deep, letting the mixed scent of the two werewolves soak into him, until Fenton was shoving his phone in Shiloh’s hands and instructing him to use the app to place their order so they could pick it up. He followed his instructions while selecting everything for Fen and Therus’ orders, then took his time order for himself.

“This is kind of fun,” he said with a little smile. 

Fenton chuckled. “Make sure to order enough nachos and dips for us before you place it,” he said. “Payment information is already programmed in.”

“Okay, done,” he said as he handed Fenton his phone back. “Should be ready when we get there.”

“So tonight,” Fenton said, “Week nights are usually for hanging out and movies. You up for it?”

“Sure? I guess?” he said nervously. “You just… you just hang out and watch movies?”

“Yeah, like normal people,” he laughed. 

After a quick stop for the food, they were back at the apartment. Fenton texted Therus to come down to help with the bags, and when the alpha crossed the parking lot towards them, wearing the same clothing as before, but now also sneakers and he had brushed and styled his hair, Shiloh felt his heart give an undeniable hard skip.

“Did you clean me out?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at the number of bags in the trunk.

“I tried,” Fenton laughed. “But I brought you food.”

“I guess I can forgive you,” he chuckled. He up at Shiloh, who stood nearby with the large bag of takeout. He had pulled the hoodie on, which was way too big for him, swallowing his slender frame. It was cute. “Shiloh?”

Shiloh felt a shiver run up his spine. “Thank you.”

Therus smiled at him. “Don’t worry about it.” He grabbed a majority of the bags and headed walked through the parking garage. 

Fenton grabbed the rest and Shiloh fell in line next to him. Therus held the elevator and the three road up together, Shiloh standing in the corner, just next to Fenton, his eyes on the floor and trying his hardest not to seem too incredibly anxious. He closed his eyes, breathing deep, and for once, didn’t feel like throwing up.

Once back into the apartment, he went with Fen to his bedroom. They agreed to figure out where to put the clothing and other items later, and for now, change and go eat. Fenton pulled on pajama shorts and a t-shirt, while Shiloh changed into a new pair of snug sweatpants and, after a second, pulled on the NASA hoodie.

Therus was waiting for them, which rocked Shiloh. He wasn’t eating, he wasn’t angry or tapping his foot, he was simply waiting, standing in the kitchen, thumbing through his phone. The food was set up on the island, with a large pile of chips and various dips in the middle. He looked up when the two omegas walked in.

“I didn’t know what you would want to drink, Shiloh,” Therus said.

He swallowed hard. “Um, water?”

“Water,” Fenton laughed. He went to the refrigerator and opened it. He handed Therus a bottle of beer and pulled out one for himself. “We have beer, a couple different brands. I have some leftover wine, a couple cans of soda, almond milk, orange juice, tequila…”

Shiloh fidgeted. “Okay, um, a beer.” He glanced at Therus, who was watching him, and decided that maybe he it would calm him down a little. He had a lot of sugar and caffeine with Fenton throughout their shopping day, and was feeling a little wired, so maybe a beer would help settle him. And, holy shit, did the food smell absolutely delicious.

Therus sat down first, across the table, and Shiloh realized that the alpha had sat in the one chair that would put him the furthest from him. He felt a pinch of guilt over it, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually invite Therus closer, so instead he sat down in front of the food that had his name on it.

Fenton joined them after turning on the radio for some background noise.

Shiloh sat, staring at the wrapped up food, nervousness swirling through his stomach, as he waited for what, he didn’t know. No, he did know. He knew exactly what. He was waiting for Therus to start eating first, to give permission, to snap at him for sitting at the table with a plateful of food. Instead, Fenton started to eat first, unwrapping his burrito and helping himself to a chips dipped in salsa.

Finally, Therus did the same, and Shiloh looked down at his plate. Slowly, he tried as hard as possible to unwrap the food without making too much noise or bringing attention to himself. When his hands started to shake, he knew he had to do something, so he grabbed the bottle of beer, twisted off the top, and took a long drink.

He almost spit it up. It was _good_. It definitely wasn’t the cheap shit bought in the grocery store, it was some high-class lager. He looked at the fancy label on the bottle in surprise before setting it down.

“Do you like mango salsa?” Fenton asked, snapping him out of his fixed state.

“I don’t… not hate it,” he said, looking up.

“Good, because do,” he said and placed the little plastic container in front of Shiloh.

“Thanks,” he said with a frown, he looked up, but Therus was eating while browsing his phone. Ignoring them. So… it couldn’t possibly hurt to eat, right? He chewed his lip before finally bowing his head and taking a big bite out of his food.

…

_Finally, he’s eating._

Fenton had sent him updates all afternoon from the mall, updating him on every little victory in getting Shiloh to eat, drink, even start to open up. It was surprisingly a lot of progress for less than a day, but then, Fenton and Shiloh had clicked the moment they had met. It made sense that the two omegas would quickly form a bond.

And with Fenton, well, he just had a way of forcing his way into someone’s life. He was a little hurricane.

He pretended to be busy on his phone while they ate, only looking up to grab a handful of chips or stand to get another beer. He was just reaching for a chip when a hand softly touched his own, and then snapped back.

_Shit._

“Help yourself,” he encouraged Shiloh, who was staring at him with huge grey eyes. Gorgeous eyes. There was a touch of blue in them, and they reminded him of the sky over the ocean just before a storm. He smiled gently.

Shiloh bit his lip, hesitating, before he grabbed one chip, no dip, and set it on his plate.

Well, they would get there, eventually. He helped himself and then finished his plate, standing to rinse it off. “What did you want to watch tonight, Fen?”

“Stranger Things, Season 2, remember?” the other omega said. “We watched the first season last week.”

He hummed. That’s right, the 1980’s themed show that reminded him of _The Goonies_ and _IT_. “Sounds good.” He grabbed himself another beer, god bless werewolf metabolism, and walked around the table. Shiloh was just standing and he paused before they collided. He stepped around him, and had to use every ounce of strength he had not to touch the other werewolf, instead he stepped into the living room to turn on the television and blu-ray.

He exhaled a heavy breath. Shiloh’s natural scent was starting to come out. It was very much mixed with Fenton’s, and his own from the hoodie he seemed to have claimed as his own, but it was there. Soft, so very soft, and like his eyes, it was as stormy as the sea. He wanted nothing more than to press his nose against his neck and smell him, he wanted to run his fingers through his hair, and he wanted to simply _hold_ him. Having someone around him who was in so much distress was making his alpha instincts go haywire, demanding that he find a solution. The problem was, that he was the problem, and without completely removing himself from the situation, he would have to try to find a way for the two of them to co-exist until Shiloh accepted him. In the past he would have scented him, maybe given him a hug, or spent the night cuddling and sharing gentle kisses.

All things that would terrify the omega, so he did nothing. Instead he checked his emails, because the work was never done, and then turned as Fenton lead Shiloh into the living room. The two sat on the couch, and Therus decided to sit in the recliner. He would much rather sit on the couch, and he caught the look of disappointment from Fenton, because they always cuddled on movie nights, but Shiloh wouldn’t want him so close.

“Start it, Fen,” he said as he kicked back and got comfortable. He glanced at Shiloh, who had grabbed the blanket he had been using earlier and was snuggling up beneath it. He smiled softly.

…

Shiloh had seen episodes of Stranger Things, his pack often sat around and watched movies and drank, but it was never quite this relaxing. He found himself snuggled up under a blanket, and eventually leaning on Fenton’s shoulder as he started to grow sleepy. The sun had set outside, but this part of the city was never dark or quiet, even this many stories up. He found himself slumping against the other omega, before snapping awake. He did this twice before Fenton started to laugh.

“Go to bed, sleepyhead,” Fenton insisted. 

“I don’t… have a bed,” he replied sleepily as he shifted around. “I can sleep here.”

“No, come on,” Fen said as he stood. He grabbed Shiloh’s hands and pulled him to his feet. He started to lead him down the hallway to Therus’ bedroom, but Shiloh pulled back, frightened. “Okay, my room.”

“Seriously, I’m okay on the couch or the floor,” Shiloh said with a yawn as he walked into the omega’s bedroom.

“Lay down, go to sleep,” Fenton said, pushing for the bed. “I’ll be in later, if that’s okay? Do you mind a snuggle-buddy?”

Shiloh blinked at him. “No… No I don’t. I don’t think so.”

Fenton smiled. “Okay, great. So go to sleep, Shiloh.”

Shiloh stood in the dark of Fenton’s bedroom for a minute, before shuffling over to the bed and pulling the blankets down. What could it hurt to sleep here? He hesitated, digging his toes into the rug, before he finally sat down. He almost moved to the floor, because he honestly didn’t see how he could be welcome here, when he decided to just lie down.

Just for a second. He would move to the floor after that.

But instead he close his eyes and woke up hours later, curled up under the blankets and alone. He sat up, frowning and looking around for Fenton. There was a clock on the nightstand and it said it was it was just past two-in-the-morning. He sat up slowly, reaching back to pull his hair out of its incredibly messy deconstructed bun, and smoothed his hands through his hair.

His bladder had woken him, and he couldn’t just ignore it, so he left the bed and walked through the apartment to the bathroom. After using the toilet and washing his hands, he decided to see if the other two were still up or--

He stopped as a soft, breathy sound caught his attention. Shiloh turned and tip-toed across the hallway to the open door to Therus’ bedroom. He didn’t know how he missed the smell now, it hung heavy in the air like a perfume. His eyebrows furrowed and he bit his lip as his curiosity took over, and he was soon standing in the shadows of the doorway, and what he saw had him feeling very confused, for a lot of different reasons.

Therus and Fenton were in bed together. The alpha was stretched out on his back, his large hands gripping Fenton around the waist, who was naked and riding him slowly. The omega was making soft, breathy sounds, just short of moaning. His head was thrown back, his lose hair cascading down his slender back, and his knees were spread wide and digging into the mattress. He was moving at a leisurely pace, seemingly as slow as he wanted. He would rise up slowly, before dropping back down with a deep-throated moan. 

There was just enough light pouring in from the bright city outside that Shiloh could definitely see everything. Fenton was sweaty and flushed, and everytime he rode up and down his body would shiver and he would let out a pleasant little sound. Therus was also naked and flushed, and his eyes were locked onto the omega riding him, his blue eyes half-lidded and full of affection. When Fenton would wiggle his hips, Therus would let out a little groan, and murmur something under his breath that Shiloh couldn't hear.

The heavy scent of their sex clogged his nose and back of his throat, and it was unlike anything he had smelled before, and it made him tremble.

Shiloh’s eyes widened and his face heated, while his breath caught. Fenton was leaning forward to kiss Therus, who responded with a low-rumbling rumble, and he thrust his hips up, making Fenton moan.

When his eyes went to the cock buried deep in the omega’s ass, Shiloh looked away before he saw anything and closed his eyes. He tip-toed out of the bedroom and hurried back to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He sat on the bed, emotions racing through him.

It wasn’t a shock that they were fucking, it made sense, Therus was the alpha, Fenton the omega, of course they were fucking, but what shocked him was _how_ they doing it. Fenton clearly had all the power, he had been setting the pace, he had been _enjoying himself,_ and Therus had seemed to revel in it just as much. His face had been soft, appreciative, and loving.

No blood, no screaming, no pain. Just two people in bed together, savoring each other’s bodies. Fenton wasn’t shoved face-first into the mattress with his alpha behind him, fucking him until he was sobbing. He felt tears burn in his eyes and he burrowed himself under the blankets as he choked on a sob. He pressed his face in the pillow, determined not to bring attention to himself and interrupt them.

He whined and shook, because it was all just _so much_ to take in. And it felt like someone had sliced into his chest, because Shiloh, for the first time in his werewolf life, felt the desire to be apart of something more. He wanted to be seen as an equal in a pack, he wanted to have an actual family that cared about him; he wanted someone to trust, he wanted love, and he wanted…

What he wanted, he wasn’t sure he could ever actually have. He cried harder, choking on years of pain.


	5. PART TWO - Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I didn't plan on sharing another chapter so soon, but when I was reading chapter five over, I realized it was like, 25 pages, so I split it into two shorter chapters. Which means you get an update a lot sooner than planned! xoxo

“Did you sleep well last night?”

Shiloh had just left the bathroom after showering and changing into jeans and a t-shirt. Fenton was sitting in the living room, drinking coffee and playing on his phone. He walked over to the omega and sat down. “Yeah, um, pretty well.” He had woken up with puffy eyes and a crusty nose, and he had been horrified that he had apparently cried all night in his sleep. But a quick shower had taken care of that, and he was feeling pretty good.

“I crashed with Therus,” Fenton said with a yawn. “I thought you might want some time alone.”

He bobbed his head and blushed, turning his face away, but Fenton saw it. He chuckled.

“Shit, did we wake you?” he asked.

Shiloh was mortified. “Um--what? What? Why would you think… No. No, of course not.”

Fenton laughed again. “I’m so sorry! The last thing I’m sure you needed on your first day here was to hear us fucking. We don’t do it very often, but we all got needs, right?”

He didn’t blush this time, because he wasn’t so sure about that. He had never been involved with anyone other than Devon and the few assaults from the pack. Because of that, he had never thought about having sex with another person. He had never even kissed anyone. He shrugged. “You two are together, I get it.”

“We aren’t together,” Fenton corrected. “We’re just… friends-with-benefits.”

Shiloh looked at him curiously. “So… Therus doesn’t… he doesn’t…”

Fenton cocked his head. “Doesn’t?”

He looked away again and squeezed his hands together until it hurt. “He doesn’t force you,” he finally pressed out.

Fenton jolted slightly. “Oh--god no,” he said. He set his coffee cup down on the table and reached out, gently touching the other omega’s shoulder. “No, Shiloh, Therus has never, and would never force himself on anyone or force anyone into anything they didn’t want to do. Is that why you didn’t want to sleep in his bed last night?”

He shrugged and continued to stare down at the floor.

“Shiloh, believe me when I tell you, he won’t touch or hurt you, okay? If you decide to sleep in his bed, that’s all that will happen, I _swear it_ ,” he insisted as he scooted closer so he could put his arm around the young man.

He glanced at him and sighed shakily. “I’m sorry.”

Fenton kissed his cheek. “You’re scared, I understand. I just want you to be happy.”

He believed him. He didn’t know why, but he felt like Fenton would never lie to him. He just wished he could think that way about the alpha. “Wh-where is he now?”

“At work,” Fenton said as he picked his coffee cup back up. “He took a couple of vacation days to help you, but he’s back there now. He won’t be home until tonight, so we have the house to ourselves.”

 _He...took time off work to save me?_ He rubbed at his eyes and released a shaky breath. “Oh.”

“Sometimes I bring him lunch,” Fenton said. “Do you want to go see him later? I’m sure he’d like to see you.”

He felt his cheeks pinken. “Why would he want to see me?”

Fenton smiled and kissed his cheek again before standing. “I dunno. Want some coffee?”

Scrunching his nose in confusion, Shiloh stood and followed Fenton into the kitchen. “Sure.”

“Therus gets up a lot earlier than I do because he’s an over-achiever and I’m a lazy-ass, so breakfast is usually whatever you want,” he explained. “I had a couple Eggos, but you’re welcome to whatever you want in the refrigerator. There’s a million take-out menus in that drawer there,” he said while pointing, “if you ever want to order in, just ask me for Therus’ credit card info. There’s also like, a million little places in walking distance.”

He nodded as he filled a mug with coffee. He went to the refrigerator, and slowly opened it. It was stupid, but he felt pretty proud of himself for doing just that. He selected a coffee creamer and added it to his coffee, before stirring it and taking a long drink.

Fenton was sitting at the island, and smiling. Shiloh tilted his chin up. “What?”

“That’s Therus’ favorite creamer, too,” he said.

He said it like there was something significant, but all Shiloh could do was wonder if he was going to get into trouble. He’d seen two other bottles, so certainly not? He sat down across from Fenton. “So what do you do all day?”

He hummed. “Let’s see. I go to the gym, I sometimes meet with friends for lunch or stop by and see Therus. There’s a park not too far from here that I like to go to and take photographs. If I’m feeling ambitious I’ll go out of the city, shed my skin, and just be a wolf for the day. Do wolf-things.”

Shiloh sat back. “You have… you have so much freedom.”

Fenton smiled. “You’re free to do what you want, too,” he reminded him. “What do you want to do today?”

He swallowed his coffee with a nervous gulp. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m going to the gym and meet with some friends,” he said. “You’re welcome to come along, or you can hang out here. I think Therus cleared out the closet in the office, so you can hang up your clothes in there.”

“What?”

“Follow me,” Fenton chuckled, and lead him to the office, which was actually a third bedroom. It was set up with the alpha’s desktop and books, and a treadmill, but the large closet was open and empty. There were unmarked boxes stacked next to the desk, and shirts draped over the back of the desk chair. “If you decide to stay, this will be your room.”

He swayed and had to lean against the wall. “What about all his stuff?”

“We’ll move it, no big deal. The apartment is pretty big, if you hadn’t noticed, and we have lots of space,” he explained. “But you’re more than welcome to stay home. I’ll leave a card with you so you can order food.”

He nodded. “Okay. Okay, yeah, that sounds okay.”

Fenton chuckled at him and rubbed his thumb over Shiloh’s wrist. “You’re starting to smell like you again.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that not okay?”

“No, it’s perfect,” he reassured him with a smile. 

He wanted to ask what he smelled like, but he wasn’t sure if wanted to hear the answer. Devon had always said he smelled like an eager slut, and he didn’t think he could tolerate hearing it from Fen. Instead he cleared his throat.

“I don’t want to keep you from your day,” he said. 

So, after leaving him some basic information, like Therus’ credit card info, and both their phone numbers (the apartment had a landline) Fenton changed his clothes and grabbed his gym bag and left. Shiloh stood in the empty living room for a minute, just looking around and trying to assess what he should do.

And he would be lying if the thought of running away didn’t cross his mind more than once. But he was scared of that for a couple of different reasons. One, he was absolutely certain Therus would hunt him down, and two, and possibly even scarier, was going out into a world he wasn’t ready for.

Instead he decided to do what Fen had suggested, and organize the closet. It also gave him the opportunity to try on everything they had bought, some of it things he hadn’t realized Fenton had grabbed.

Like a fucking lace thong and thigh-highs.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said with a burning hot blush. Those could just stay in the bag. There built in drawers, so he used them for underwear, socks, and pants. 

It took longer than he realized to arrange everything how he liked it, and when he was finished there was still a lot of extra room, so he moved all the boxes back into the left side of the closet, and hung Therus’ shirts back up. They were older t-shirts, and what he assumed was a suit in a bag. Probably things he was holding onto for sentimental value.

He stole a couple sniffs and felt a warm tingle up his spine.

It was nearly noon by this time and his stomach was growling. He followed Fen’s suggestions and went through the drawer of menus, before he grew simply too nervous and put it all away.

Feeling sweaty and anxious, he paced around until he found himself in Fenton’s bedroom. He chewed his lip before he sat down on the bed.

It smelled nice. It smelled safe. He was just about to lie down when the phone rang, making him jump, and he sprinted to answer it.

“Hello?” he asked.

There was a short pause. “Oh, Shiloh. How are you? I was looking for Fen, he’s not answering his cell.”

He sat down in the nearest chair as Therus’ warm voice made him shiver. “He went out earlier, to the gym and stuff. I’m just—I’m just um, putting my clothes away. If that’s okay?”

The alpha chuckled warmly. “Of course it’s okay, Shiloh.”

“Did you want to leave a message for Fen?” He was actually surprised at himself, having such a normal conversation with the older man. But then again, it was a very different situation with Therus not being around.

He paused. “Actually, I was calling to see how you were doing.”

Shiloh swallowed hard. “Me? Oh, well, I’m...okay.”

“Did Fen leave you money for food?” he asked.

“Mm-hm,” he hummed while he chewed nervously on a fingernail. “I haven’t ordered anything yet, though.”

“Oh, well, don’t be afraid to order whatever you like,” Therus encouraged gently. 

Shiloh closed his eyes and gathered his nerve. “Hey, Therus?”

“Yes, Shiloh?”

“Thank you,” the words came out shaky and cracked, “Thank you for saving me.”

The alpha was quiet for a few seconds. “I wish I could have done it sooner.”

He was wiping his eyes and reaching for a tissue. “You didn’t know me, so how could you have?”

“I know,” he replied. His voice was deep and breathy, “But that doesn’t make me wish it any less.”

He blew his nose and sat back, pulling his legs up and rocked the recliner. “Why?” he asked quietly.

Therus didn’t answer at first, and when he finally did, it was to end the call. “Shiloh, I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” Shiloh said before the line went quiet. He sat, staring at the phone, face pulled into a confused frown. Therus’ words hadn’t been said in a threat, they had been more regretful. Why hadn’t he answered?

_Maybe I don’t want to know._

He sighed shakily and went back to the kitchen. Even with the alpha’s permission he was nervous about ordering food, but he wasn’t a great cook and didn’t want to make a mess in the kitchen, so after far too much anxious pacing he ordered a pizza.

As he waited for it, he turned on the television for some background noise and found himself back in the recliner, and it wasn’t until he found himself under a blanket that he realized he was trying to smother himself in Therus’ scent.

He rocked the chair slowly as he thought about the significance of that. Surely he wouldn’t want anything to do with the alpha’s scent if he was going to hurt him, right? It was his inner wolf that was drawing him to the man’s rich scent, attracted to the strength of such an alpha—not to mention that he was a natural-born werewolf, and that made him all the more attractive.

Shiloh choked. _Attractive?_ Sure, there was no denying the alpha was hot as hell, but Shiloh hadn’t felt any kind of attraction for years, and thinking of it made his pulse quicken.

Twenty minutes later the door-buzzer went off and he was waiting at the door for the delivery man, and then sitting in the kitchen to eat his pizza. He had ordered a large, so the others could have leftovers when they returned home.

Feeling full, and more satisfied than nauseated, Shiloh cleaned up the kitchen. He found that cleaning helped work off his nervous energy, so he moved from room to room, cleaning what he could. He even found the stacked washer and dryer in a closet and did the laundry. He vacuumed and opened the windows for some fresh air, and went out into the balcony to sweep and clear away spider webs.

It took him longer than he realized, and when he was done, he was tired. Not so much that he was exhausted, but just enough that he could use a nap. If he laid down for just an hour he should be awake when the others returned home.

He went to Fenton’s room, or he meant to, but he stopped just outside of the Therus’. He chewed his lip worriedly before he stepped inside. He hadn’t cleaned either bedroom, not wanting to invade personal space. Not that Therus’ bedroom was even remotely dirty. Fenton’s was more of a clutterfuck, but it went with his personality.

The bed was made, the window open, and Therus’ heavy scent was still lingering. “It couldn’t hurt…” he told himself, and he laid down, scooting to the center of the large bed. It was too warm for blankets, so he curled up on top of the comforter, and fell asleep immediately.

…

When he woke it was to the sound of a door opening and something being dropped onto the bed. He didn’t move, remaining completely still, and just opening his eyes. Shiloh saw standing with his back to him, Therus, in front of the closet door. He was slowly, and quietly, stripping out of his expensive work suit and folding the garments before putting them on the bed. 

He’d taken off his suit jacket, his tie, and now he was slipping out of the white undershirt—

Shiloh must have made an impulsive sound because the alpha turned around, slipping the shirt off as he did. He was… Shiloh couldn’t explain it. He was _glorious_ , absolute perfection. This close he could see that the tattoos that started on his shoulders and made their way down to his wrists were a mixture of Celtic knots and wolves. But he didn’t want to look at the tattoos, instead his eyes were drawn to the trail of course, black hair that started just below his navel and went into—pants that were unbuckled and just hanging on.

“Did I wake you?” Therus asked, before he laughed. 

Shiloh, face beat red and mouth dry, sat up and looked away. He cleared his throat but found that nope, the image wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“No,” he squeaked. 

The laughter from behind him was warm. He could hear the man shedding the rest of his clothing and then opening dresser drawers to change. “Thank you for cleaning the house. I constantly pester Fen to do it but he just manages to make a bigger mess or gets distracted halfway through doing the dishes.”

“It’s no big deal,” he said. He dared to look and saw that Therus was in his sweats and tank top, probably his usual after-work attire, and hanging the suit back up. “What time is it?”

“Around six,” he said. “I normally don’t get home until much later, but I finished up early today.”

He held his breath. _To check on me?_ He wanted to continue their conversation from earlier but found now that Therus was in front of him, he couldn’t summon the nerve. Instead he asked, “H-how was work?”

“Mentally exhausting,” he said shrugging; a shrug that had Shiloh’s staring at the man’s strong shoulders. “Did you do anything fun? Other than cleaning?”

He shook his head.

Therus hummed and, decided to press luck by sitting down. He stayed as far as he could, and was pleasantly surprised when Shiloh only leaned back, but he didn’t flea or have a panic attack.

“We haven’t had much of a chance to talk,” Therus said. “Is there anything you’d like to know? Any questions you have for me?”

_Other than on the phone, we haven’t talked at all._ He felt bad about that, Therus had saved him, and it had taken an entire day for him to thank him, and it had been over the phone. He took in a shaky breath, “I wanted to thank you again, for saving me.” Yet, his eyes remained on the comforter. “You… you didn’t have to do that. I-I don’t know why you did, or what you want, but I do owe you my life. And I’m just—really thankful.”

“You don't owe me anything,” Therus said. “I just hope that you can someday learn to trust me. And, if you’re comfortable, to stay in the pack. But I won’t force you, I’d never make you stay.”

He shivered and looked up, meeting those blue eyes. “So, if I told you I wanted to leave right now, what would you do?”

“I would let you go.”

Neither of them blinked, Shiloh wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. He was playing a dangerous game, holding a strange alpha’s gaze for so long. Yet, he didn’t feel like Therus would hurt him. Devon would have had him on his belly, teeth in his neck—

He reached back, touching the heavy scar tissue on the back of his neck. The hell he had been through the last five years was still very fresh, wounds healed or not. Tears blurred his vision as he said, “I’ll think about staying, if you swear to never bite me here.”

There was something sad in Therus’s eyes, but it wasn’t from the request, it was from the pain the omega was still in, and he reached out, touching Shiloh’s other hand which was clamped on his knee. 

“I will never make you submit, Shiloh,” he promised. “I will always treat you with the respect you deserve.”

“Why are you so nice to me?” he asked quietly.

Therus lifted his hand and cupped Shiloh’s face. He didn’t answer, only smiled at him, and then stood and left the room, leaving Shiloh slightly flabbergasted and blushing. He clutched his hands together and took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. 

But he didn’t feel _scared_. It was an extremely unnerving feeling, and he had no idea how to handle or process the information. How did one put away years of torment? How was he supposed to open up and trust people again?

…

Everything was going along rather smoothly for the next couple days, until Shiloh woke up sweating and anxious. It only took him a second to figure out that it was the pull of the moon, which would be full tomorrow night. Sickness grew and grew, and he burrowed under the blankets, because this was the time his pack had always been the most aggressive towards him. He waited, shaking and eyes closed, for Devon to storm in and force him onto the floor.

He closed his eyes, curling up into a tight ball, when he swore he heard a door open. Footsteps pounding across the old wooden floors that always creaked. Devon was there, his eyes blazing with pre-moon hunger and hormones, biting him and hitting up, forcing him out of bed and onto the floor, stripping him… 

Shiloh yelped and kicked, until teeth sliced through his neck, and he--

“Shiloh? Shy, wake up,” Fenton said sleepily as he rolled over. The other omega was whining and had started to thrash. Fenton wanted to reach out and wake him, but knew better than to grab someone in the middle of an episode. “Wake up, Shy! What’s the matter?”

With a cry and a gasp, Shiloh sat straight up. He blinked and looked around, staring into the shallow darkness of the bedroom. He saw colored walls, posters and photographs on the walls; a bookshelf of books, music, and a tapestry over the bed with a rose pattern on it. He frowned and rubbed his head. That’s right, he was somewhere else. He looked down at Fenton, who was still lying next to him. It was dark and the apartment quiet.

“I’m—I’m not there,” he whispered.

Fenton, still not moving, whispered back, “No, Shy, you’re here with me. Devon is dead. He won’t be hurting you ever again.”

He gulped several loud breaths before his heart slowed down. He ran his shaking his hands through his damp hair. 

That’s right, Devon was dead, his pack was probably still at the house but they weren’t that dangerous without their alpha. They wouldn’t be accosting him at breakfast, he’d have no cocks shoved down his throat, he wouldn’t be raped. The moon would rise and he would be no one’s prey to hunt. 

“Sorry,” he whined softly. 

“It’s okay,” Fenton promised. “Do you want me to hold you?”

Fenton, despite his reputation of being a koala, had been keeping his hands to himself since they started to share a bed. But now...it couldn’t hurt, could it? To accept the support and embrace of another?

He nodded finally and Fenton lifted the blanket, and Shiloh slowly lay back down and scooted slowly into his arms. Fenton slowly closed his arms around him, and Shiloh felt the overwhelming urge to sleep. Fenton was warm and safe, and his hands on his back reassuring, like a shield.

“Get some sleep,” Fenton whispered.

…

Therus could smell it and he found himself outside of Fenton’s door, listening to Shiloh’s frightened whispers and the other omega’s gentle reassurance. When the stink of fear started to dwindle he sighed and stepped back, raking his fingers through his hair.

He went back to bed and dropped down. The moon had different effects on everyone. Fenton got especially horny, he felt that too, but also felt a more aggressive protectiveness toward his pack, along with the need to run a lot. Shiloh, as he had feared, was terrified. 

His usual plans for the full moon cycle was to drive out to his country house and spend the days sleeping, eating, fucking, and spend the night hunting for deer. It sated him, and he and Fenton always had a good time.

Now he was worried about whatever trauma Shiloh had lived through every month for the last five goddamn years.

He closed his eyes, growling in his chest. He should have made that alpha suffer more, but in the heat of the moment he had snapped and shifted up into his werewolf skin and simply bit the other wolf’s head off.

His blood had been boiling and he had turned to attack the rest of the pack. He ripped into one brown wolf, two others fled with their tails between their legs, and the fourth had submitted and told him where Shiloh was being held.

Shiloh. Talk about a first impression. Two seconds of being near him had hit him in his heart in a way he had never felt before. Like someone had taken a sledgehammer and swung it through his ribs. He had tried to shake it off, but he hadn’t been able to get those big grey eyes out of his mind. 

It had been obvious that the omega was being abused, but he had no idea how badly until he had stalked the house. And when he had followed the thick scent of blood and cum to the omega’s bedroom, well, his decision had been fortified.

Truthfully he hadn’t planned on going in, teeth blazing like he had, but after talking to Fenton (after his run-in with Shiloh at the cafe) he had gone there that night and had smelled his blood, his fear, and heard his screams.

He had snapped, and that hadn’t happened to him in years.

Now all he could hope to do was help Shiloh recover and pray that in the end, he would want to stay. He had meant what he said, if Shiloh chose to leave he wouldn’t stop him, no matter how hard it would hurt.

Therus huffed a sigh. It was just past six in the morning and he couldn’t get back to sleep. He had taken the next couple of days off (the advantage of having a werewolf boss was getting full moon cycles off,) and had planned in the three of them leaving early this afternoon. It was a long drive and they would want to get settled in before tomorrow night.

He decided to get up and start breakfast. He was craving a bloody steak and some heavy carbs. He opened the curtains to let in the growing morning light, and turned on the radio, but made sure to keep the volume down so as not to wake the two omegas.

He was just dishing up the pancakes, letting the steaks cook for a few more minutes, when Fenton walked into the kitchen, mid-yawn and stretching his arms over his head.

He looked around for Shiloh, but saw that the bathroom door was closed. “Good morning.”

“Mm, morning,” the omega said sleepily as he shuffled up to the alpha for a hug. The looming moon made them both crave contact, and all it took was Therus’ rubbing his unshaven cheek against his neck for Fenton to purr.

“How’s Shiloh?” he asked after giving Fenton’s neck a little nip and kiss.

“Woke up thinking he was back there,” he said with a sigh. He stepped away and poured himself a glass of orange juice. “He’s pretty fragile this morning.”

Therus nodded. He would have to make sure he was especially careful then. Unfortunately all he wanted to do was hold Shiloh. He knew that stimulating his scent glands would help calm him, but Therus doubted the omega would let him that close yet.

When the bathroom door opened the other omega joined them, Therus felt warmth spreading throughout him, and that was something he had to keep down, because the young man didn’t need to be around a horny alpha. Shiloh was acting especially skittish, keeping his head down and clenching his hands. When he took a deep breath, he jolted somewhat.

Therus frowned, but Fenton caught it, and went to open a window. Therus blushed somewhat, because he forgot how heavy his scent was, especially right now.

He cleared his throat. “Shiloh, how do you want your steak?”

The omega glanced between him and the food being offered. The three steaks were still very rare, with a bit of char on top with melted butter and garlic.

“Like that,” he replied. He swallowed hard and forced himself to look up, meeting the alpha’s eyes. “That looks great.”

Therus felt his heart clench and his stomach tighten. “I have pancakes, too.”

They settled around the island, Therus sitting in mostly silence as Fenton told Shiloh about the house. 

“Just think of all those pretentious country vacation homes you see on Pinterest,” Fenton said as he added more syrup to his pancakes. “It’s in the middle of nowhere, not a human eye for miles. Just us, open fields, the stars above us, and lots of animals to hunt.”

Shiloh was eating slowly, fighting anxious, but the open window was helping. “Sounds nice,” he murmured.

When Shiloh glanced at him, Therus sat up a little. He knew what the omega was thinking, because he knew what aggressive packs did to omegas during the moon. His brain started to turn, trying to figure out anyway he could help him relax and enjoy the cycle.

After eating, Fenton went to pack and Shiloh offered to help Therus with the dishes. Therus was thinking it was great progress until they accidentally collided and Shiloh dropped three plates, all of which broke into chunks on the floor.

“Fuck!” Shiloh yelped. “I’m so sorry! Shit—shit I’m _sorry_ —“

Therus shook his head. “It was an accident,” he said, praying he could calm him. But Shiloh was shaking, he looked like he was going to have a meltdown—he had to do something. 

So he did the only thing he could think of, and that was pull the babbling, tearful, frightened omega into his arms and hold him tight against his chest.

Shiloh was immediately quiet. First Therus thought it was because he had gone too far, leaping way over his boundaries, when he heard Shiloh whimper.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a few minutes. By this time Shiloh had returned the embrace, clinging to Therus while pressing his face into his chest.

“I’m sorry.”

He laughed gently. “You need to reel in those apologies, Shiloh,” he said. He tested the waters and gently stroked one hand up the omega’s back, to the gland hidden in his neck. He pressed his thumb over it.

Shiloh jolted in surprise, moving back just enough to look up at him. His face was red, his eyes bloodshot, and his cheeks wet. 

“This okay?” he asked as he continued to gently rub.

“Feels good,” he replied shakily. No, fuck that, it felt really good.

“Can I scent you?” he asked.

With a gulp Shiloh nodded, and Therus leaned down to pressed his cheek against the omega’s neck, and then his own neck, nuzzling against him to exchange scents. He closed his eyes as Shiloh’s sweet, stormy scent filled his nostrils.

What he wasn’t prepared for was Shiloh’s whine and purr. Therus squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to hold back a growl, as the omega pressed up against him, hands on his chest, while whining again. This time, he couldn’t stop from growling. Goddamn, had this been Fenton or anyone else—

Shiloh jumped back with a gasp, staring up at Therus with wide eyes. They took a step away from each other, Shiloh staring at Therus with unblinking eyes and a flushed face, before he turned and fled the kitchen.

Therus reached back for the nearest thing for support, and leaned back against the kitchen counter. Not only was his entire body vibrating from the contact, but he was hard as hell.

He groaned and let his head fall back. This wasn’t good. If he couldn’t control himself around Shiloh then he would definitely scare him away. The man was still suffering from the trauma thrust into him by his previous alpha, and the last thing he needed right now to deal with his another alpha’s selfish feelings.

“Fuck.”

…

“Maybe I should stay here.”

Fenton looked up to Shiloh, who was sitting in the middle of the bed, clutching a pillow. “What? Why would you do that?”

Shiloh rubbed his neck. There was absolutely no denying that there had been a massive reaction between him and Therus. Not only had scent-marking felt good, but the overwhelming pheromones pouring off such a dominant alpha wolf short of the full moon had been strong enough that Shiloh had completely blanked out.

When his head cleared it was to Therus growling, himself purring, and the scent of arousal between the two of them.

_If I can’t control myself now, what’s going to happen tomorrow?_ He looked up at Fenton and shrugged again. “I’m not pack,” he said, “I shouldn’t ruin your traditions.” Or distract Therus who, if growling told him anything, hadn’t been a fan of him attempting to climb him like a tree.

“Uh, you’re my friend, and I want to howl with you,” Fenton said stubbornly. He expressed this by standing with his hands on his hips and his head cocked. “Don’t you want to howl with me?”

“Don’t guilt me,” he whined as he dropped back onto the bed.

“I can’t believe you’re gonna just ditch me—“

“Fen—“

“After all the time we’ve spent together, and this connection we’ve formed—“

“Fen, seriously?”

“And now you’re going to have me sit another full moon on the sidelines while Therus hunts—“

“Okay!” he growled from beneath the blankets. “I’ll come.”

Fenton hooted triumphantly and jumped onto the bed next to the other omega. He shoved his empty backpack at him. “Go pack.”

With a grunt Shiloh got up and headed into the office. Inside he sighed shakily, telling himself that it would be okay. He would stay by Fen and not provoke the alpha wolf. The moon brought out a lot of emotions, and Shiloh didn’t want Therus to think he was taunting him.

He didn’t need much, just something comfortable to wear after the moonset and to sleep in. So grabbed pajama pants and a t-shirt, and without thinking twice, shoved the NASA hoodie in the bag, too. He put together a bag of toiletries and pulled his bag over his shoulder.

“You ready?” Fenton asked.

“We’re leaving already?” 

“I thought we should get there sooner,” he said. “The house has a pool and I’m dying to go swimming.”

“Won’t the water be like, dirty?” he asked as he looked around for Therus.

“Therus has a cleaning service who goes in and gets it set up for the moon,” Fenton explained. “Pool will be ready, fridge stocked, clean sheets. All the things.”

He nodded. He was going to ask where the alpha was when he stepped out of the bedroom. Shiloh found himself stepping back, and looking away, but it wasn’t before he got an eyeful. Therus was wearing black jeans, a white button-up with a black leather vest over the top, and boots. His hair was done in soft waves and he had shaved his face. There was no need for cologne, not with his natural wolf scent wafting around him so heavily. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fenton straighten up, drag his green eyes over the alpha, and smile in approval. There was obvious heat between them, and Shiloh again wondered why he was going along.

There was no backing out of now, however, as Fenton herded him out the door. Shiloh remained next to or behind the other omega, trying to put as much distance as he could between him and Therus.

Which was ridiculous because they were going in the car together for the next hour and a half.

He stole a couple glances at the man, who was having a pleasant enough conversation with Fenton, but whenever his eyes turned to Shiloh he would frown thoughtfully. 

“I can’t wait to see you as a wolf,” Fenton said as he turned looked back at him from the front seat as they drove out of the city.

“I’m nothing special,” he mumbled. “Just another scrawny wolf.”

Fenton pursed his lips. “I bet you’re beautiful. Right, Therus?”

Shiloh looked up, catching the alpha’s eyes in the rear view mirror. He was frowning again. “I’m sure.”

He felt his stomach drop and he just wanted to hide. Maybe he could ride in the trunk. He could change here and just run back to the apartment—if he even could. He had never actually _tried_ to change on his own because he was always punished.

“What about you?” he finally asked. “How are you as a wolf?”

“Cute and fluffy, of course,” he said with a grin. “Therus is what you expect.”

“Oh, I saw him,” he murmured. For about two seconds before fainting. Eight-feet tall, completely ripped, with a mouthful of massive teeth and fur the shade of shadows. He’d had the same passionate blue eyes.

“He’s a little less intimidating as a wolf,” Fenton tried to reassure him. “He’s pretty fluffy, too.”

Shiloh snorted. He was not fluffy. He was thin, with gangly legs and a silver coat with touches of brown on his ears, paws and the tip of his tail. He tried to look forward to the moon, he would be able to sit outside and actually enjoy it, but every time he tried, all he could hear was Therus’ growling.

He shuddered and sat back. He was just going to have to trust them not to hurt him. He knew that they had both reassured him multiple times, but he couldn’t get through his head. It was just hard to believe that they wouldn’t want to.

Other than the radio playing and Therus and Fenton chatting, the rest of the drive was quiet, but it passed by shockingly fast once they were out of the city. The countryside was beautiful, and the further away from civilization they got the more wild the world grew.

He was just settling in his seat when he was hit with a memory, of Devon driving him out into the country, then raping him, then hunting him—blood and pain—

“Shy? Shiloh! Come back to me, come on sweetie.”

He raised his head and blinked rapidly, tears falling down his face. He was bent over, breathing heavy, and had dug his sharp nails into his skull so when he pried them away, his fingers were bloody.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped as he struggled to breathe and pull it together. “Devon—he brought me out to a field when we first met. He-he raped me and hunted me, biting me—he did—I can’t—“

His words and cries were muffled as Fenton, who had jumped into the back seat the second Shiloh had started to panic and hyperventilate, pulled him to his chest and held him tight. The omega shushed him quietly, whispering in his ear while stroking his hair.

“Fen?” he heard Therus ask worriedly.

“He’s okay,” Fenton said, “he’ll be okay. He’s breathing okay. Keep driving.”

He managed to stop shaking, but didn’t let Fenton go until they were driving up a long lane to a large house. He pulled away, wiping his hands over his face and thanking Fenton, before he looked out the window.

The house was big and white, with an all-seasons room in front along with a large porch. There were windows everywhere and glass doors. The landscaping was simple, and blended in with the wide-open landscape around them. There were clusters of trees for windbreaks and beyond the house, miles of open grasslands that faded off into rolling hills covered in dark green evergreens.

He stood from the car and took a deep breath. The air here was clean, everything was so green and bright and healthy with wildlife. Wild flowers of every color filled the slopes and ditches, their fragrant scent attracting swarms of butterflies and bees. Overhead a hawk circled and a group of birds rose from the field in a rush of wings and chirps.

Shiloh wiped his eyes again. “It’s...it’s so beautiful.”

“I love coming here,” Therus said as he stepped around with his and Shiloh’s bags. “Fen and I often vacation here in the winter.”

He couldn’t help but smile a little. Only a werewolf would think vacationing in a place that would inaccessible in the winter fun. He saw there were two chimneys and guessed the house could function just fine in the middle of a massive blizzard. 

“That… actually sounds amazing,” he said.

“It is,” Therus said. He looked down at the omega and added, “Are you okay?”

“I’m sure you’re tired of asking me that,” he sighed.

“Never.”

He looked up, staring into Therus’ gentle, yet firm blue eyes. He swallowed hard. “It was just a bad memory.”

“I understand,” he said as he handed Shiloh his backpack. He led them up to the house, unlocked the door, and held it for the other two.

Inside it was as rich, clean, and moderately decorated like the apartment, only with a more of a country touch to it. Animal skulls adorned the walls, there were wood rafters overhead, crystal chandeliers and rich, dark wood floors. In the large living room was a stone fireplace and a painting of a pack of wolves howling at the moon.

“Bedrooms are this way,” Fenton said as he nudged Shiloh towards a staircase. “Do you want your own, or do you want to share?”

In his pack he had never wanted to be around the others because of their aggression and lust, but he felt a strong desire to stay close to Fenton, even Therus.

“If you don’t mind… I’d like to stay with you.”

Fenton bumped their shoulders playfully. “Of course I don’t mind.”

The bedroom was the same as the rest of the house, with a large bed placed near huge windows that overlooked the countryside. Fenton dropped his bag on the bed and went to stand in front of the window, before realizing it was actually a door that opened to a massive balcony that wrapped around the back of the house. He opened it and stepped out.

There was moderate patio furniture, and when he looked down over the side he saw a good-sized swimming pool, complete with a patio, lounge chairs around it, and an outdoor fireplace made out of stone.

“Nice, huh?” Fenton asked as he joined him. “I love sitting out here.”

“It is,” he agreed. He walked further down, only to find another set of glass doors and Therus standing on the other side in another bedroom, going through his bag. Shiloh gulped and stopped, watching as the man checked his phone before placing it on the charger. Then he looked up.

Ashamed at being caught staring, he waved nervously and turned away. But the door slid open behind him and the alpha stepped out. Shiloh was immediately wrapped up in his scent. Even out here, be could smell him.

It was then that he looked down at his hands and saw the blood crusted under his fingernails. “Where is the nearest bathroom?”

Therus opened the door for him, “Master suite is through that door.”

Shiloh thanked him and hurried by him and inside.

When Shiloh disappeared inside the house, Fenton hopped onto the railing and sat down. “I think he’s doing pretty good.”

“Other than the meltdown in the car,” Therus sighed as he leaned next to the omega.

“I didn’t know that’s what happened with him,” Fenton said quietly. “I’m glad you killed that asshole.”

“I gave him a fast, painless death,” Therus grunted. “He didn’t deserve it. I should have skinned him alive.”

Fenton leaned back and looked up at the sky. “You can’t change that now. What you can do however, is everything you can to help him get through this.”

“Honestly, Fen, I don’t think he even wants me around him,” he sighed. “All I do is scare him.”

“He just needs time,” he said. “He’ll come around.”

“And if he decides to leave?” he asked while picking at the banister. 

Fen touched his shoulder. “Maybe tell him how you feel?”

“That _would_ scare him away,” he scoffed. “He let me hug him and scent-mark him earlier, but I must have pushed it too far because he ran off—“

“Wait a second!” Fen interrupted while waving his hands. “When did this happen?”

“In the kitchen after breakfast,” Therus said. “He dropped a plate and started to freak out. I didn’t know what to do, so I hugged him. Things were going fine, until I scented him…”

Fen hummed. “He turned you on?”

“Understatement,” he muttered while adjusting himself through his pants. He was _still_ halfway hard and it was starting to hurt. 

Fen was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. So that’s why Shiloh had tried to back out of the trip. But he didn’t think that Therus had scared the omega entirely, because Shiloh had definitely smelled of his own sweet arousal.

He shrugged and said, “Maybe you can impress him tomorrow night.”

Therus barked a laugh. “Actually I’m thinking of going off for the entirety of both nights and let the two of you stay here.”

“Therus, no—“

“Fen, I will terrify him,” Therus stressed. “I can’t possibly stay around and expect him to have a good experience. And he fucking needs that. He needs to be able to enjoy himself and howl. You’re the perfect person to help him.”

Fenton frowned, because he very much thought Therus was wrong. One-hundred percent wrong. But the door opened and Shiloh joined them. He had with him a bottle of water.

“Did you get lost?” Fenton teased.

“I was thirsty,” he said. He didn’t have the heart to tell them that he had also thrown up, then brushed his teeth and went to drink something, hoping he could get rid of the paleness on his cheeks.

But by the way Therus was looking at him, it was safe to say the alpha knew. There wasn’t a lot that got by them, especially ones like Therus.

Shiloh exhaled shakily. “So, wh-what are we doing?”

“Just chatting,” Fen said. “But I’m ready to go for a swim. How about you two?”

Shiloh fidgeted. “I don’t have any swim trunks.”

“I don’t either,” Fen laughed. “Neither does Therus.”

The alpha frowned. “You two go on down. I’m going to take a nap. Wake me if you need anything.”

Fenton sighed with disappointment, but was determined to still have fun. He hopped down and took Fenton’s hand. “You can wear shorts if you’re uncomfortable being naked.”

“I mean, no one else is around,” he said with a shrug. Nudity wasn’t something werewolves were usually shy about. Shapeshifting couldn’t happen with clothing on, so being naked around the pack was a normal thing.

Down at the pool, the sun was shining bright and hot, and both stripped down and left their shoes and clothing on the patio chairs. Shiloh turned around, aware of the scars covering his body, aware of how thin he was, but Fenton didn’t seem to care, in fact the first words out of his mouth were, “You’re so pretty.”

He blushed. “Me? You've seen yourself, right?” Fenton was thin, but surprisingly fit, with strong thighs and arms, and wonderful hips. He had his fair assortment of scars, including one particularly perfect bite mark on his torso.

“We can flatter each other later,” he laughed. He turned and leaped into the deep-end is the pool, and came up with a shriek.

“Cold?” Shiloh asked with a giggle. He went to the edge and dipped a toe in.

“You better get in here and suffer with me!”

Shiloh sighed dramatically before jumping in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love and appreciate all your comments. In the past I've always made an effort to reply to every single comment, and I haven't been doing that here. Do you guys feel that it's better than I do reply to and acknowledge your comments? Let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story, and that you're cool with Shiloh taking his time to recover from his trauma. It's so easy to just kind of skip over it (and I'm guilty of writing that a lot) but I wanted for him to actually have time to process what's going on around him, leaning to trust these new wolves, and figuring out who he is. That's not saying that he won't open up to the others fast (this story isn't going to last years, which is objectively probably how long he actually would take to recover from the shit he went through,) but that's just because... I really want him to be with Therus. I'm a thirsty, bitch okay? He also tends to go back and forth on a lot of things, and I'm just drawing from my own experience with anxiety and paranoia, so if it's annoying to read, I understand. It's pretty annoying to live with, lol
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, commenting, the kudos, and for talking with me on Twitter. xoxo


	6. PART TWO - Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiloh learns a little more about his possible future packmates, and things get a little steamy.

They had forgotten towels, so instead of trudging into the house dripping wet, they decided to sit next to the pool and air-dry. The afternoon had grown surprisingly hot and there wasn’t a cloud in the blue sky.

“I got this from my boyfriend,” Fenton said as he lounged back. He touched the individual tooth marks from werewolf teeth on his torso. “He didn’t know he was a wolf, so one night he came over, shapeshifted under the full moon, and surprised the fuck outta me.”

Shiloh gaped at him. He was sitting cross-legged, with his hands in his lap. “Holy shit. What happened after that?”

“Thankfully he snapped out of it and spent the rest of the night hiding in my bathtub—as a massive wolf mind you—and I hid in the bedroom, trying to decide if I should call the cops or animal control.” He laughed. 

Shiloh covered his mouth as he snickered. “That’s quite a different experience from mine,” he said. He knew that Fenton was single now, so he asked, “Did you two breakup?”

Fenton’s expression dropped and he traced a pattern on the concrete beneath him. “No. He died about a year later. Well, he didn't die, he was killed by another werewolf pack.”

Shiloh felt his stomach turn and he frowned sadly. “Fen…”

“We were so young, and so very stupid. We knew nothing about packs, about alpha, beta and omegas. We just smelled another werewolf and went to check it out, because, like I said, we were stupid.” He sighed and shook his head. “They wanted me, for obvious reasons. He tried to protect me, he tried so hard. He was so stupid.”

He smelled Fenton’s tears before he saw them, and was immediately at his side, putting his arm around him. They shared a hug before Shiloh nudged Fenton to continue with his story.

“They killed him, horribly and I… I ran. I was scared, I couldn’t shapeshift on my own, and they could.” He wiped his hands over his face. “That’s when I met Therus.”

Shiloh started somewhat. “He saved you?”

“I ran into him, quite literally, as he was leaving a bar. He was this big, solid, gorgeous man, and even my immature werewolf brain knew what he was. I was pretty goddamn scared, after what I had just seen another alpha do, I thought for sure he was going to do the same to me.” 

“But he didn’t.”

“No. No he didn’t. He stepped in front of me, and when the pack came he didn't even hesitate. He led them down an alley, became this massive monster, and well,” Fenton shrugged and smiled tearfully, “they didn’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“Jesus,” he gasped. “That must have been terrifying.”

“Seeing what he did to that pack was scary, and I’d be lying if I didn’t think he was going to do the same to me. He turned to me, this werewolf covered in blood, and… and he nudged me with his nose and licked at my wounds. When he changed back he asked if I was okay, and all I could do was cry. He brought me back to his place and took me in,” he explained. “Been with him ever since. I miss Jason a lot, and I only just stopped blaming myself for what happened to him.”

“You couldn’t have known,” he said softly. “You had no experience. No pack to teach you.”

Fenton looked up, smiling softly. “Same with you,” he said. “But you have us now. We can help each other.”

He licked his lips and nodded slowly. “I guess that’s true,” he agreed quietly. He pulled his arm away and folded his hands in his lap again. “It would be nice to… to actually, ya know… have people to lean on.”

Fenton rubbed Shiloh’s back, tracing his fingers over his spine. “You can always lean on me,” he said softly.

Shiloh looked back at him, aware of how close they were, and quite naked. They stared at each other for what felt like ages, before Shiloh licked his lips and exhaled shakily. His brain bounced back and forth between wanting to scoot away, wanting to standing, and wanting to get closer. He tried to reel in his more uneasy feelings, and was going to ask Fenton, when the other omega acted first.

The kiss was soft and chaste. When Fenton leaned away, his green eyes were full of questions. Fenton’s hand was on his cheek, his thumb brushing over Shiloh’s lower lip. He was talking quietly, Shiloh thought he was asking if everything was okay, but Shiloh knew only one thing: he wanted more.

Shakily, because he had never done this before, he cupped Fenton’s face and leaned in, pressing his lips against the other man’s. But while Shiloh was new to all this, Fenton certainly was not. He took control, slanting his mouth over Shiloh’s and licking over his lips. When they parted in a gasp, he quickly kissed him again and deepened it, moaning quietly as he licked into Shiloh’s mouth.

Shiloh squeezed his eyes shut as a whirlwind of emotions raced through him. Heat sparked in his belly and he started to tremble. Fenton continued to explore his mouth and lips, his tongue delving deep and coaxing a moan from him. Shiloh felt weak and he submitted easily to Fenton’s kiss, resting back on his elbows while the other omega straddled him.

When Fenton pulled away, he was giggling. “Sorry about that.”

Shiloh was panting. “Don’t be.”

Something mischievous sparkled in Fenton’s eyes. He leaned back, only to have Shiloh’s erection brush his ass. Both jumped, but for different reasons. Fenton thought it was funny, and chuckled, but when he saw that the color had drained from Shiloh’s face, he straightened up.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he sat back across Shiloh’s legs.

“I—I—“ he sputtered. But there was no denying it: his cock was hard. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been turned on. Devon used to like to torture him, jerk on his cock, bite at it, trying to get him aroused in order to humiliate him, but Shiloh had always been too horrified for it to happen.

He swallowed hard and shook his head. “I didn’t think… I mean, I haven’t, not in years…” He wanted to move away, cover himself, maybe hide in the bathroom, but he couldn’t without throwing Fenton off him.

The other omega nodded slowly. “I understand. If you want, I can help you with it.”

He gulped and snapped his head up. “What?”

Fenton couldn’t stand the thought that the last person to touch Shiloh had been that monster. He remained where he was, hands resting on Shiloh’s hips. “I’d really like to suck you off. Can I?”

Shiloh wobbled, nearly lying all the way back. “You… you don’t have to.”

“I really want to,” he purred sweetly.

He must have nodded or said yes, because Fenton was gently nudging his legs apart so he could kneel between them. Then his hands were slowly sliding down his ribs and belly, to his cock. And when Fenton wrapped his hand around the base, and licked the head, Shiloh saw stars.

He slumped back, eyes closed and mouth open, unaware of his soft moans or desperate whines. All he knew was that Fenton was slowly kissing his cock, then swallowing it and sucking. He whined louder, the sound from his throat, as the other omega bobbed his head and swirled his tongue.

“Fenton—“ he moaned. “Y-yes—yes _yes_ please—“

Shiloh’s pleads for more and the way he was moaning his name sent shivers up Fenton’s spine. He muffled a moan of his own as he bobbed his head, suctioning his mouth—

Shiloh’s sudden orgasm took him by surprise, but it shouldn’t have. Poor man hadn’t had pleasure in five years, if anything before that. That would have made him what? Barely sixteen? It made perfect sense that he hadn’t ever been with anyone before Devon, especially if he had been closested.

Fenton pulled his head up, slowly licking over Shiloh’s softening cock, before giving it one final kiss.

He leaned over him, smiling. “So. Was that good?”

Shiloh opened his eyes, staring at his friend. “Holy shit,” he sighed, then laughed.

“Aw, you flatter me,” he said with a wink. “Gonna make me blush.”

Shiloh laughed again and Fenton stood up, reaching for his hand. He saw that the other man was half-hard, and was going to ask, when Fenton said, “That wasn’t about me. I wanted to give you that. You don’t need to give me anything in return.”

“I could though,” he said softly. He wasn’t good at sucking cock, nothing like what Fenton had done, but he could take a pounding. He hesitated. “I mean, you could… you could—“

He silenced him with a kiss. “Nope. You owe me nothing.”

Shiloh nodded and then yawned. He hadn’t gone swimming in years, and had forgotten how exhausting it was. He was both tired and hungry. “I’m really tired.”

“Then let's go take a nap,” he said as they pulled on their clothes. “Nothing like swimming and sex to tire you out.”

He blushed hotly. “You aren’t wrong.” He looked up to the house, wondering where Therus was. Fuck, hopefully he hadn’t seen them! Shiloh couldn’t remember if he had been loud or not. But the idea is the alpha watching them mess around had his ears burning red.

He didn’t have a chance to really think on it however, because when they were in the bedroom Fenton had him on his back and was snuggling against him. He couldn’t help but laugh and return the embrace. 

…

Therus woke to a sound he never thought he would hear.

And by god, it took every ounce of willpower to not go and look at what the two omegas were doing.

He couldn’t smell anything, and he thanked god for that, because he didn’t think he could handle that right now. But just knowing that something was going on (and by the way it sounded, it was Shiloh receiving the pleasure) had him hard all over again, and he didn’t feel like wishing this one away.

He swore and unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants. He pushed them down enough that he could comfortably pull his cock from his boxers and the laid back, legs open and bent at the knee.

He shouldn’t, he knew it would make everything more difficult, but he focused on the omega’s needy moans. Closing his eyes he pictured Shiloh, sweet and beautiful, and started to jerk himself off. He had seen the omega naked, albeit he had been bruised and broken, a thought he shoved away as fast as it sprouted. Instead he pictured him full of life, healthy, and happy in his pack. He pictured him welcoming and wet, lying back to take his cock; asking for it, needing it—

He grunted as he came, seed splashing onto his chest and over his knuckles. He exhaled heavily and sat up.

“Great,” he muttered at the mess on his shirt. 

He got up, washed his hands, changed his shirt, all while guiltily entertaining the thought of Shiloh in bed. The sounds from outside had stopped, replaced by laughter, so at least the two were having fun together.

At least Shiloh was having fun. 

He heard the downstairs door open and close, then soft voices as the two omegas went to their room. He would have liked to snuggle with them, just for the company, but he could not and absolutely would not ruin the moment.

Instead he headed downstairs to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass. He went around the house, making sure it had been properly prepared. There was lots of food stocked up, everything had been cleaned, and the first-aid closet was stocked for any emergencies.

He swallowed down the whisky and poured himself another. He went outside, circling the property, smelling for any other werewolves that may have found the remote location and had been lurking around (there were none.). Finally he found himself by the pool, where the scent of Shiloh’s arousal still hung in the air.

Therus grunted and stomped away. He did not need another hard-on, what he needed was to wear off some energy.

It was safe to say that the two would be asleep for a while, so Therus shed his clothing and stepped outside. He closed his eyes, pulling forward ancient werewolf magic that flowed through him. He changed without pain; it came as easy as walking. Black fur covered his body and he dropped down onto all fours. His back legs broke as they turned around, and his toes and fingers became savage claws. The sounds of bones breaking filled his ears and he tasted blood on his tongue.

When finished, he shook out his coat and flicked his tail, trotting across the yard. He looked back at the house once before he bolted away.

…

It took a bit of effort to squirm free from Fenton’s grip, but he managed to eventually. He yawned and stretched, and had to admit he was feeling pretty damn good. Shiloh left the bedroom, found a bathroom to wash up, and headed downstairs for the kitchen.

It was by the back door that he found Therus’ clothing on a pile on the floor. He knew the scent of change well; it was strong and peppery, making him scrunch up his nose. He opened the door, looking out, but didn’t see the wolf anywhere. He did, however, smell piss and saw paw prints on the patio. 

_Out marking his territory,_ he hummed to himself. He went and gathered the clothing, folding them neatly and placing them on a chair near the door so he could find them easily when he came back. 

His stomach rumbled and he went into the kitchen. Earlier when he had looked in the fridge he had found it stocked with food, and the cabinets full of canned goods and condiments.

Shiloh bit his lip, looked around, and decided that having a sandwich would be okay. He pulled out a loaf of hearty multigrain bread, freshly sliced roast beef and pepper jack cheese. He sliced up a tomato and onion, and added some mustard and lettuce. He was just thinking he was finished, when he started to make another.

He was pretty sure Fenton would be up soon, and probably hungry. So he made a second sandwich, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and placed it in the refrigerator.

He grabbed a bag of chips, and a soda, before taking his food outside onto the lower level patio. He sat down in a cushioned lounge chair.

It really was nice here. The air was clean. It was quiet, save for the wind and the wildlife. There weren't even any other cars. Just them, in the country, with the world to themselves.

As he ate, he thought about the next couple of nights. Tomorrow night was the full moon, along with the night after. Fenton said they would leave sometime on the morning of the third day, depending how tired everyone was. The full moon was a three night cycle, but on the third night the pull of the moon wasn’t strong enough to force them to shapeshift, so it was seen as s two-day cycle instead of three.

He looked up as a bird flew from the grass, squawking loudly. Somewhere out there was a werewolf, and that should have frightened him. But he found that instead, he was okay with it. Therus was just doing what alphas did, especially at the full moon. He was marking his territory, with both his scent glands and his urine, he was making sure that there had been no other werewolves in the area, and he was sniffing out any other possible threats. It’s what a good alpha would do.

Devon would be hurting him, encouraging the pack to hurt each other, and even inviting over another pack so they could either fight or fuck or both. Every month it was absolute chaos. Talk about being in a whole new world with this pack. He could see the little changes in Fenton and Therus that the moon brought out. Therus smelled heavily of alpha pheromones, he also smelled of arousal (a scent Shiloh realized he could get drunk on,) and he was a bit more aggressive. Fenton was more out-going, obviously more promiscuous, and when they were sleeping, a lot more cuddly and eager to rub on him to share scents. 

He pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. Was this how it was supposed to be? If there were more pack members would they all be doing the same thing? He closed his eyes as he thought about how he felt, other than nervous.

It was quite a shock when the first thing that came to him was that he too, was feeling aroused, and it wasn’t just because of the time he spent with Fenton by the pool. From the moment Therus had pulled him into his arms to quell his panic attack, he had been hit with a shock of electricity. When the alpha had rubbed his neck, then fucking scented him--it had all been like sticking his finger in a lightsocket. 

Then Therus had growled, and Shiloh had backed off. It didn’t stop him from feeling a seductive pull toward the alpha wolf. But clearly Therus just wanted them to be friends. He had Fenton for all his sexual desires, after-all, it was a relationship both wolves benefitted from.

Shiloh looked up at the sky, wondering just why he was entertaining the idea of a sexual relationship with the alpha. It was...intriguing. He would be lying if he said it wasn’t. But if Therus forced him down, if he bit his neck…

Which he wouldn’t do. Fenton said that Therus never forced him. Therus had said he would never bite him there.

He frowned. What would Therus do if he asked him to touch him? Would he growl and send him away? What if Shiloh was too broken for the alpha to want his company? Maybe that was it. It certainly made sense.

He closed his eyes and grumbling to himself, when he smelled the undeniable scent of werewolf freshly transformed. It wasn’t the best scent, shapeshifting smelled like werewolf magic, but also blood and bile, and bone dust. A result of one’s body breaking, reshaping, and becoming a completely different creature. But Therus’ scent did have a different twist to it, probably a result of him being natural-born instead of bitten.

Turning slowly he saw Therus walking toward him.

Fucking naked, sweaty, flushed and marvelous. Were his abs carved from fucking stone? And there was no looking away from what was between his legs now, and Shiloh impulsively found he was unable to look away.

Devon didn’t look like that. No one in his godforsaken pack looked like _that._

“Shiloh?” Therus asked with a throaty chuckle.

He blinked hard and snapped his eyes back up to the man’s eyes. “Uhm--?” he croaked. “D-Did you have a good um, a good… run?”

Shiloh was as red as a strawberry and Therus could actually hear his heart pounding. _Well, there’s a reaction I didn’t expect. Certainly not complaining._ But he did decide to take mercy on the blushing omega by going to the house first to pull on his pants, and then came back.

“I did,” he answered. “I was just making sure we were alone out there.”

Shiloh nodded. Therus may be wearing pants now, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still see his dick every time he closed his eyes. “Are we?” Was his voice breaking? Was he squeaking? He cleared his throat.

“Yes,” he said. “We’ll have the entire area to ourselves the next couple nights. To do whatever we want.”

“What do you normally do?” he asked. He started to slowly relax, inch by inch, and stretched his legs out. Therus went to the second chair, and turned it so he was facing him, before sitting down.

“We run and howl, play a lot,” Therus explained, “I go off to hunt. Fenton usually goes out of his way to get into some kind of trouble.”

Shiloh snorted. “Like what?”

“Interesting fact, turkeys are not afraid of werewolves, and will chase you down.”

Shiloh couldn’t stop from gasping and laughing, and he covered his mouth with his hands. “You’re kidding!”

“I came home to find him on the balcony, how he got up there I don’t know, with three male turkeys all puffed up and gobbling threatenly at the bottom,” he laughed. “That kind of turned him off of hunting after that. Now he just lounges around here like some fat cat.”

“No, I don’t!” Fenton argued, catching the last line of the conversation. He stepped out in nothing but a long t-shirt. He had found the sandwich Shiloh had made him and was eating it. “I go out, I do wolf-stuff. You aren’t the only one.”

“Uh-huh,” Therus said with a wink at Shiloh. He leaned back as the omega sat down in his lap. “We believe you.”

“Not all of us want to go out take down a massive elk,” Fenton said as he offered the alpha half his sandwich. “I’m perfectly comfortable with who I am, I don’t need to go out and--and kill big things to prove I’m all wolf.”

Shiloh couldn’t stop from laughing again, and he settled back in the lounge chair. “I believe you, Fen.”

Fenton squinted at him. “I’ll show you. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be the big wolf and kill something.”

“Just not turkeys.”

“You told him about the turkeys!?” Fenton yelled, staring at the alpha, who head leaned away from the volume of his voice. Fenton pushed on his shoulder. “You swore to never tell anyone!”

“Oops,” Therus laughed as he tried to lean away from being hit on the shoulder. “My bad.”

Fenton growled in his chest and pouted. “Is this what you two do when I’m not around? Make fun of me?”

Therus rubbed his back. “I would never do that to you.”

“That’s a flat-out lie and you know it.”

He chuckled. He had eaten the sandwich in two bites and was hungry for more. He shifted, lifting Fenton off his lap and onto the chair. “I’m going to make something. Anyone else hungry?”

“No thanks,” Shiloh said as the man walked by him. He leaned after his scent, a purr in his chest when he heard Fenton snort and laugh. He straightened up and turned back. “W-What?”

“I saw that,” Fenton said with a leering grin. “You were sniffing him.”

“He smells good--there’s no denying it,” he sputtered.

“Mm, he does smell good,” Fen agreed as he finished his sandwich and brushed his hands together to rid them of crumbs. Then he hopped up and dropped into the chair next to the other omega. “You’re blushing, by the way.”

Shiloh touched his face. “Am not.”

“So are,” he continued to tease. “What else did you two talk about before I interrupted?”

“That was basically it,” he said. “I just asked how his run went and he was telling me that we’re the only werewolves out here. Then we started to make fun of you.”

“You guys are jerks,” Fenton huffed before nuzzling at Shiloh’s neck. “Mm. You smell so good.”

“Stop that,” he giggled and pushed him away. “Your breath is terrible.”

“So does that mean I don’t get a kiss?” he asked, staring up at him with big green eyes.

Shiloh wrinkled his nose, before rolling his eyes and giving in. It was just a quick peck, but it was a nice little jolt of endorphins for both of them. Then Fenton stood, announcing he was going to take a bubble bath. Shiloh sat for a few minutes, until the ache to be close to the others was enough that he was getting up and going inside to find Therus.

The alpha was in the kitchen, making chicken alfredo. When he saw Shiloh walk in, he smiled softly. But his heart started to speed up when the omega willingly walked over and sat down at the island, just across from him. 

“Hey um,” Shiloh started nervously as he stared down at the granite countertop. “Thanks for helping me earlier.”

Therus cocked his head in curiosity. He turned away from the chicken currently cooking. “When?”

“At home, when I… when I kind of freaked out,” he said, clearing his throat. “Sorry if I upset you.”

Therus flinched and frowned. “I don't...understand. When do you think you upset me?”

“When I hugged you,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I shouldn’t have. I heard you growl and--”

“Oh shit,” he said with a jolt of realization. “Is that why you ran away from me?”

Now Shiloh looked up. Therus was staring at him, his blue eyes wide in surprise. “Yeah? I crossed the line.”

“Shiloh, alpha wolves don’t purr like omegas do,” he explained. “We...we pretty much growl at everything. But that wasn’t a sound of aggression.” But being from a pack of aggressive wolves that always growled, he wouldn’t know about different frequencies in growling, because when he made that sound, he sure as fuck hadn’t been angry. 

He sat up, quizzical and intrigued. “So that was… that was like… your purr?”

It was Therus’ turn to blush. “Basically.”

“Your chicken is burning.” When Therus turned away to check it, Shiloh stared down at the counter with huge eyes. So Therus hadn’t growled _at him,_ he had… basically purred, which meant he had… He was… He looked back up, watching the muscles flex in the man’s back. There were pink scars etched across his skin, but it didn’t take away from the allure, in fact it elevated it by a thousand. Therus was scarred because he had taken on probably dozens, if not hundreds of other wolves, and if stature and scent told Shiloh anything, it was that Therus had won every fight.

He watched as the man added the chopped chicken a mixture of noodles and sauce he had already prepared. After tossing it all together he set the large pan on the counter. The heavy scent of chicken, garlic, and cream filled Shiloh’s nose and even though he had just eaten, he felt his stomach rumble.

“Maybe I am hungry,” he said with a soft smile.

…

“I know that after the conversation we had earlier might mean this question is a little inappropriate, but why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

Fenton exhaled and looked up at the sky. He and Shiloh were curled up under blankets in lounge chairs near the outdoor fireplace. The sky was clear, and the moon was heavy and fat, shining so bright they didn’t need any other light source other than the fire.

“I dated a few guys,” he said. “I had a couple alphas approach me, but I’ll never leave Therus. The couple of betas I met were fine, but they weren’t… who I was looking for.”

“Who are you looking for?” Shiloh asked. They had drank too much after swimming again, and he was feeling wonderfully tipsy and sleepy.

“I dunno,” he hummed. “I’ve been flirting with a guy, but so far it hasn’t gone beyond that. How about you? Did you ever dream about anyone?”

He shook his head. “Before Devon I wasn’t even out… and coming out is what put me in his path,” Shiloh explained. “I never had the opportunity to think ‘hey, who would make a good boyfriend?’”

Fenton smiled. “And now that you can think about it?”

Shiloh looked back at the house. “I dunno yet.”

“That’s fair,” Fenton said with a knowing smile. “You have all the time in the world.”

They had fooled around a little earlier, kissing and touching each other, and Shiloh found it had really helped him calm down and pull his normally frantic brain together. “Can I ask you a weird question?”

“I love weird questions.”

“Why does… why does doing stuff with you feel so good?” he asked. “Not that—! I wouldn’t expect it to feel good, but it feels… shit I don’t know. Really good.”

Fenton was laughing. He could have teased him, but he took a mercy. “Because being intimate with your pack is one way to form bonds. I know you aren’t pack, but your wolf wants the connection. And a way to make those connections is through sex. It’s satisfying for both man and wolf.”

It made sense. He did crave a connection. “Is that why you and Therus…?”

He hummed. “That, and because he’s really good in bed.”

Shiloh blushed hotly as he tried not to picture what he had witnessed during his first night with the pack. He had spilled earlier that he had in fact, seen them having sex and not just heard them, but instead of being annoyed or embaressed, Fenton had laughed and teased him, telling him that he could have joined them. And what an idea that was!

Shiloh yawned and curled up, closing his eyes for what he thought was just a minute, only to be woken by whispers and someone jostling him. He growled in irritation, sinking his claws into the chair, while muttering to be left alone. Then he pressed his face into blankets and fell back to sleep.

_Just a few more minutes,_ he told himself, then he would go inside and crawl into bed with Fenton.

But a few minutes turned into all night, and when Shiloh opened his eyes he found that he was in bed, but it wasn’t with Fenton. 

He was lying _on_ Therus, with his arms wrapped possessively around the man. And when he opened his eyes he realized that yes, he was lying completely on him, with his face nuzzled into his chest, and Therus had his arms around him in return.

And while Therus was fully dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, Shiloh was only wearing a long t-shirt that had ridden up, leaving his naked lower body pressed snuggly against Therus’s groin. There was a blanket pulled over them, thank god, but he could feel one of Therus’ large hands resting in his bare lower back.

He lay perfectly still, just listening to the man’s deep, even breaths. 

It gave him time to try to figure out how he got here. The last thing he remembered was sleeping outside, and growling when someone tried to move him.

Apparently Therus had been the one moving him, had picked him up, and Shiloh had…

He moved just enough to see that yes, his fingernails had curled into claws and were sank through the material of the man’s shirt and into his shoulders.

Shiloh felt his face heat up. He needed out of this bed right now. The moon was that night, and the scent Therus was throwing off was making him feel more drunk than the vodka last night. Unhooking his claws, he slowly sat up, which put him in an even more compromising position of straddling the man, when Therus yawned and opened his eyes.

When they made eye contact Shiloh wanted to die, but Therus only smiled warmly. “Well, good morning.”

Not knowing what else to do, he dropped off of the man and into the bed, hiding under the blankets. He could hear Therus laughing. “Morning,” he mumbled. 

Therus looked at the lump under the blankets with affection. “You have quite the grip, you know.”

“Oh god,” he moaned. He burrowed himself under further. 

“I tried a couple of times to move you, but you just growled at me,” he laughed. 

When he opened his eyes to the darkness under the blankets, he said, “Oh shit, did I bite you?” Now he remembered being jostled more than once, and in his heavily-sleepy state, biting someone. 

Therus touched the little healing mark under his jaw. “Once or twice.” He had meant to place Shiloh in the bed, but the sleeping omega had growled, bitten him, and refused to be moved. He hadn’t been able to even get his jeans off, and had to kick his shoes off once he was lying down. He had woken once to try again, but Shiloh had huffed and growled, muttering something about being left alone. The bites were little more than sharp nips, and had made him chuckle.

He had given up after that. Besides, it had been nice. He liked cuddling with his pack, especially on the eve of the moon. It made the alpha wolf in him preen that his packmates would want to be close to him. Of course, he knew that Shiloh probably had no idea what he was doing.

And his reaction this morning cemented that. It made him laugh even more.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked as he stretched out.

He had, actually. No nightmares like he would have expected considering the amount of dread that the moon cycle usually brought. His dreams had been peaceful and he had felt warm and safe all night.

Now he was just embarrassed as hell.

Oh, and he’d bitten the man. Twice.

He groaned.

“Is anything you would like to talk to me about before tonight?” Therus asked. “Any questions or concerns?”

Normally he would have been filled with fear, but he felt like he knew Therus a lot better after talking in the kitchen yesterday over supper. The man had also partaken in drinking with them, for just a little while. He had sat down with Fenton, sharing just a little about himself. It had been nice, just talking and actually being relaxed. And the more he leaned about Therus, the less he feared him.

That still didn’t mean he absolutely mortified that he had been sleeping on him, naked from the waist down!

“No,” he mumbled into the pillow.

“You know, I like cuddling,” Therus said as he looked at the man-shaped lump under the blankets.

“So does Fen,” Shiloh pointed out, “you two are good for each other.”

Therus frowned thoughtfully at the ceiling. “We make a good pack, he and I,” he finally answered. 

Slowly Shiloh rolled over and then pulled the blanket down enough to expose the top of his head and his eyes. “Why is it just the two of you?”

Therus exhaled slowly. “I’m… much older than I look,” he started. “This isn’t my first pack, but this is the first that I’ve been a pack-alpha of since… I lost my mate.”

Shiloh slowly sat up. “You had a mate?” he asked. “What… What happened?”

“Did you know there were werewolf hunters?” Therus asked, and when Shiloh shook his head, he continued, “For as long as there have been werewolves, there have been hunters. They aren’t nearly as populous as they were, but they can be quite bold. My mate, she and I were expecting our first child, and I had a pack of four other wolves, both mated pairs. We had been together for about five years, living mostly off-the-grid in Canada, up in the Northwest Territories. This was before cell phones and GPS and everything we have now, back then, you could really get lost.”

Shiloh sat, legs folded and blanket wrapped around him. He knew very little about Canadian geography, but he knew that the Northwest Territories were very far up and near the Arctic Sea. He swallowed hard, feeling sick to his stomach, because he knew this story wasn’t going to have a happy ending.

“Anyway,” Therus continued, “the one problem with being out in such a remote area is that when you need help, you aren’t going to get it. I don’t want to get into details, because I still can’t… talk about it, but in the end, after the attack, the hunters were dead, but so was half my pack and my mate. I took the survivors to Alaska, it was a grueling trip to make, but I had a friend there, the alpha was a large pack near Fort Yukon. 

“After I got us there, I… left,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I had failed my pack, my mate, my child. I felt like I couldn’t be trusted to lead a pack, that I couldn’t have lives that depended on me.”

“Therus,” Shiloh gasped, “none of that was your fault.”

“I know,” he said with a sad little smile, and turned his attention to Shiloh, meeting his eyes. “I know that now. But I had to deal with things my own way. I threw myself into my own hell, living away from other werewolves and humans for a very, very long time. I lived as a lone wolf, I didn’t even change back into my human skin for almost ten years. When I did the world was so different…” He suddenly laughed. “I hope this doesn’t make me sound too fucking ancient.”

Shiloh smiled. “No,” he said as he timidly reached out to touch his shoulder. “I know werewolves live a long time.”

Therus smiled back. “Anyway. I jumped back into the human world, I regained my strength and my status, I challenged whatever alphas I could find just to see how strong I was. I did this for a while, until I met Fenton.”

“He told me that story,” Shiloh said. He blushed when Therus reached up to take his hand, holding it. “How you saved him from that pack.”

“I didn’t think twice about taking him in,” Therus said. “I saw him, and I knew he was supposed to be in my pack. I felt a very similar feeling when I first saw you.”

Shiloh straightened and squeezed the man’s hand. “Wh-what did you feel with me?”

“I felt…” Therus started slowly, and exhaled nervously. “I felt like... you were special.”

He blushed and swallowed hard. “I’m not special,” he argued quietly. “I’m...broken.”

“So was I,” he pointed out. “So was Fenton. We’ve all been broken, Shy. But we’ve all come out stronger.”

“How do I come out stronger?” he asked.

“Stay with us.” _Stay with me._

Even though Therus’ voice was soft and even, Shiloh still picked up on his nervous energy, he could smell a slightly pungent scent of fear. Therus was scared that he was going to say no, and that almost broke his heart.

His eyes teared up and he quickly rubbed them. He looked down at Therus, still stretched out on his back, still holding his other hand, still looking up at him with blue eyes shadowed with vulnerability. He swallowed hard.

“Okay,” he breathed, “I’ll stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the end of part two! I'm planning out part three right now. I'm hoping it will be at three or four chapters. I don't want this to turn into some crazy-long story with a over-thought plot. Trying to keep it nice and simple :)
> 
> Thanks for reading, and all your wonderful comments. xoxo


	7. PART THREE - Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I deleted this chapter and now I'm posting it again. I wanted to change something (I mentioned Fenton having a love interest, and I decided that I didn't want that. I liked the character I came up with, but I realized if I brought in someone else this was going to be longer than I'm planning, and also, it was interfering with things I'm planning. So, sorry if anyone liked that character. I promise, Fen will be happy!)

If he was being completely honest, Therus hadn’t expected Shiloh to accept. He stood under the hot spray of the shower, eyes closed and heart still pounding. He had wanted to kiss him in that moment, but the second Shiloh asked him what he wanted out of “initiation” Therus had been filled with a cold dread, because he knew what Devon had done to the young werewolf.

So he told him nothing, had kissed his cheek, and left the bedroom. Now he was in the shower, stressing over tonight’s moon, because now he certainly couldn’t leave. He was trying to build a foundation with Shiloh, and if he left on the moon then it would just open a rift between them. A good alpha stayed with his pack, provided for them, and sang with them. But at the same time, Shiloh was very much afraid of big alpha wolves, despite what they had just shared in the bedroom.

It was all so incredibly confusing, and Therus felt like he was constantly walking on eggshells.

There was a knock at the door before it opened. “Hey, can I join you?”

“This house has three full bathrooms, Fen,” Therus said.

“Yes but this one has dual shower heads,” he said cheerfully. 

Therus heard clothing hit the floor and then the steam-covered shower door opened and Fenton stepped in. He heard the water start behind him and Fenton sigh as he was blasted with hot water.

“So,” the omega started coyly, “did you two have a good night?”

 _Oh, of course._ “We slept, that’s all.”

“I know,” he said, not hiding his disappointment. He had seen Fenton leave the alpha’s bedroom looking well-rested but not smelling at all like sex; he didn’t have that best-sex-of-my-life-glow. “You had the perfect opportunity.”

Therus grunted. “Neither of us is ready for that,” he said. “He did, however, agree to stay.”

“In the pack!?”

“Yup.”

Fenton let out a happy shriek. “That’s great!”

Therus finished rinsing his hair and turned around. “So how are you doing with all this? I know you and Shiloh have been… intimate.”

“Jealous?”

“No,” he said, which wasn’t a lie. Okay, it was a big lie. But he knew how Fenton was during moons. If Shiloh wasn’t here they would be fucking right now. And if Fenton could give Shiloh a soft touch, some pleasure without frightening him, then Therus would gladly let the two omegas give each other pleasure while neglecting it for himself. “We’re free to be with whoever we want.”

Fenton smirked as he turned off the shower and rang the water out of his long hair. “Just don’t think about it too hard, I’d hate for you to hurt yourself.”

“Ha, ha.”

Therus stepped out, drying off and dressing, and headed down the hallway. He felt clean and refreshed, but his skin was itchy and his muscles tight, and it was an anxious feeling that wouldn’t go away until the moon rose tonight. He needed to work out, do something to get his blood-pumping and work off the adrenaline that was starting to spread through him.

Sex was the first thing that came to mind, but the person he wanted to have sex with was definitely not ready. He could have gone back to Fenton… he almost did, in fact, but he heard the omega calling for Shiloh. No, he would have to come up with another plan to wear off his energy.

Thank god he had thought to put a home gym in the basement. 

…

Shiloh couldn’t stop pacing.

“What did you usually be doing right now?” Fenton asked as he watched the omega cross the room and come back.

He grimaced. “Probably defending myself from someone or—with Devon.”

“Right,” Fenton sighed, “stupid question.”

“What about you?”

His cheeks pinkened. “Oh you know… this and that.”

At first he didn’t get it. Then he nodded and said, “Therus, right. Why… why aren’t you with him now?”

Fenton really didn’t want to have this conversation. If Therus hadn’t told Shiloh his feelings, then he surely wasn’t. “There’s a gym downstairs. Want to go wear off some energy?” he asked as he finished the apple he had been munching on and threw the core into the trash can. 

“By doing what?” he asked. He could maybe do some running or jogging. Outside may have been better for that, but he didn’t know the landscape and the last thing he wanted to do was get lost and have to have someone rescue him.

“Running, lifting weights, stuff like that. Personally, I like to dance,” he said as he gracefully moved around the kitchen. “And I think that’s where Therus is.”

Shiloh chewed his lip. “Okay?”

“He does CrossFit,” Fenton said with a little grin as he pulled on his sneakers.

“So?” He cocked his head, because clearly that was supposed to be some big selling point. When he didn’t react Fenton huffed, grabbed his hand, and dragged him to the basement stairs.

“I can walk,” he laughed as he pulled away. They went down and he was hit with the heavy scent of sweaty alpha werewolf, and it certainly had an effect on him. A big one. But not as big as seeing Therus lift what looked like four-hundred pounds up above his head.

“You’re blushing,” Fenton teased. Therus turned to them and set the barbell down. “Thought we would join you.”

“Go right ahead,” Therus said with a smile. He had taken off his shirt and was in only a pair of sweatpants. He laughed when he looked at Shiloh, who was blushing so hard that Therus was worried he would combust. He took a breath, but when he did, he definitely smelled it: the softest hint of arousal, and it wasn’t just coming from Fenton.

 _Jesus, this is like the start of a bad porno,_ he thought as he cleared his throat and turned away. If he focused too much on either of them he was going to have a very, very uncomfortable afternoon.

Shiloh was thinking much the same thing, and he turned away as Therus did. He distracted himself by looking around the basement. There was a rowing machine, a couple treadmills (Fenton was on one now,) a stationary bicycle, a lot of weights and other pieces that he couldn’t name, and had no idea what to do with. One wall was all mirrors and had a soft mat flooring, with a stereo system, and he wondered if that was where Fenton liked to dance. 

He was going to join Fenton, but it was too close to where Therus was. He saw a set of punching bags and walked over to them. Maybe it would do him some good to work out some energy and pent-up aggression. He glanced back and saw Therus doing pull-ups, and quickly turned away.

Maybe it wasn’t pent-up aggression he needed to work off.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do, but he had seen people using punching bags in plenty of movies. He hit it a couple times before finding that kicking was much more satisfying. He knew he was out of shape, he didn’t have nearly the muscles that Fenton did (and certainly not Therus!) but looking at Fenton told him that he could be in shape, he could be strong. Fenton might be smaller than Therus, but he was strong enough that if the situation called for it, Shiloh was sure the other omega could kick ass. 

Shiloh worked up a good sweat, and worked until his legs were burning and his fists throbbing. He stepped back and sighed, pushing both hands out of his hair, wishing he had a hair-tie because it was sticking to the back of his neck and forehead.

He heard someone behind him and turned around. He first frowned because Fen was gone. Therus was picking up weights and putting them away; he had pulled his shirt back on, but it was wet with sweat, and sweet Jesus did he smell good.

He had never found the smell of sweat appealing before. Must be all the over-acting alpha pheromones.

Shiloh closed eyes as a shiver rushed up his spine. It was very similar to what he felt with Fen, but multiplied by twenty. He felt an ache in his stomach, like nervous butterflies, and his heart was doing a weird thing in his chest. He rubbed his hand over his sweaty shirt before it hit him that he was very, very turned on.

Which Therus had picked up on because when he opened his eyes, the alpha was looking at him with an intense stare and Shiloh could just barely pick up on a low, vibrating growl from the man’s chest.

He held his breath. The growl wasn’t a bad thing, he reminded himself. The growl was a good thing. He closed his eyes and listened to it. It grew louder, but he could definitely tell the difference now that he was looking for it. It was a comforting rumble, the frequently like music to his ears. And all he wanted to do was nestle his face into the man’s chest and submit to whatever he wanted to do to him.

“Shiloh?” Therus asked. He had moved closer, not as close as he would have liked, but he didn’t want to risk scaring him. “You all right?”

He exhaled shakily. He looked up at the taller man, who was flushed, but for other reasons now, because the alpha smelled like he was ready for sex. Shiloh knew what his body wanted, but he… couldn’t. Instead he stepped forward and Therus closed his arms around him, and simply held him.

Shiloh closed his eyes. Therus’ growl rumbled against his ear and in return a soft, little purr vibrated in his chest. He squeezed his eyes closed tighter and choked on a little cry.

Therus rubbed his back and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “Shiloh?”

“I’m okay,” he whispered. He closed his arms around Therus and held onto him, curling his nails into little claws as he did. The embrace was comforting, and he wondered how he had lived his entire life without being in these arms before. Arms that could lift hundreds of pounds, hands that had most certainly killed and torn enemies to pieces, but wrapped up in them, he felt something but comfort. The alpha wolf wasn’t his enemy, he was…

Therus leaned down to scent him, and Shiloh felt a jolt of electricity.

He was hard, and his cock was aching in his pants..He knew how he smelled—

_Like an eager slut?_

“Th-Therus?”

“Hmm?”

“What do I smell like?” he asked shakily. “What does my scent tell you? Please don’t lie.”

The man looked down at the omega thoughtfully. He threaded his fingers through Shiloh’s hair and rubbed down the back of his neck. “You smell like the calm before the storm. Like electricity and sea salt; like a hurricane.”

He frowned. Shiloh knew the smell well, he had lived in Florida for the first eleven years of his life, but that was before he had become a werewolf. He took a deep breath, his brain scrambling to smell through Therus’ obvious arousal to what lay deeper: ancient pine forests, a frozen sea, and the moon shining bright and pregnant. Therus smelled like wild wolf and land. 

It was more than that, he smelled like _home._ It’s why he had slept so soundly last night, why he was constantly burying himself in his blankets, wearing his hoodies, napping in his bed. Therus smelled like comfort, security, and safety. Scent told them many things about each other, from the state of arousal, anger, fear, and right now, it was telling Shiloh that the alpha wasn’t lying to him.

“Whatever they ever told you,” Therus said while he nuzzled Shiloh’s hair, “was a lie. Whatever horrible, degrading things they said was to manipulate you. You’re so much more, and nothing that they tried to make you into.”

Shiloh sucked in a surprise breath, overwhelmed by a swelling feeling of emotions he didn’t know how to handle. He looked up, and reacting purely on his feelings, stood up on his toes and pressed a kiss against the corner of the man’s mouth.

The shock between the two of them had Therus stepping back. It hadn’t even been a full-on kiss, yet he felt like they had been engulfed in each other. He tightened his hands on Shiloh’s shoulders, who was panting and staring at him with a hunger in his eyes.

Slowly he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against Shiloh’s forehead whole tangling his fingers in his silver hair. 

The scent between them was thick and aromatic, but all Therus did was hold him. Shiloh didn’t know how long they stood there like that, wrapped up in each other. He could feel waves of energy washing over him from Therus’ embrace, and with their bodies firmly pressed together it was pretty clear how they were feeling, but the alpha never made a move to force him into anything he wasn’t ready for.

A short time later, after parting from possibly the longest hug in history, the two headed upstairs together. Therus, after kissing Shiloh on the cheek, said he was going to get something to drink, so Shiloh followed Fenton’s voice outside. The other omega was sitting on the edge of the pool, wearing shorts and a tank-top, and had his legs and feet in the water, while he walked on his cell phone.

Shiloh made sure Fenton saw him as he approached, not wanting to accidentally overhear anything he wasn’t supposed to. When the omega ended the phone call, he set his phone to the side and squinted at him.

Shiloh definitely smelled like a horny werewolf, but not sex. But more important, he smelled like Therus, _heavily_ like Therus. He cocked his head at him. Shiloh had taken off his shirt, but he didn’t have any welts from teeth or bruises from hard kisses. His lips didn’t look swollen or bruised either. “Did you have a nice workout?”

Shiloh didn’t bite. “It was fine. I did some kickboxing.”

He looked behind him as Therus came out of the house with a couple bottles of water. The alpha was definitely still aroused, he could smell it, but all Therus did was sit down next to Shiloh and hand each of them a bottle of water. “Nice work out?” he asked.

“Stop it, Fen,” Therus said with a sigh before drinking down half a bottle of water.

“Who were you talking to?” Shiloh asked to change the subject from the two of them.

“Just a friend,” he said with a dismissive shrug. “I got tired of waiting for the two of you.”

When Therus slung his arm lazily around Shiloh’s shoulders, and the omega didn’t flinch or jump, Fenton grinned at the growth that Shiloh had gone through in what was a short period of time. Unable to stop himself, he scooted closer as well, because he didn’t want to miss out on all the touching. The wolf inside them all was begging for physical contact. They were a pack, they were supposed to be together, and not just sexually. He snuggled up against Shiloh and Therus extended his arm around him as well.

…

Shiloh paced inside the house. It was growing dark, and the moon was rising. He could feel it pulling at him, the pain spreading through his body, like a giant bandaid was being ripped off all his skin at once.

The others were outside, they may have already given in and changed into their wolf fur, but Shiloh had panicked at the last possible second and ran into the house. It was stupid, he had spent all day with them, had grown impossibly comfortable with Therus, to the point that they had been nearly inseperable, but the moment he felt the wolf inside him rising, he had panicked.

Now he was trying to resist the pull of the moon. Fear raced through him and all those anxieties he thought he had conquered were back a thousandfold.

But he could only hold back the change for so long. No werewolf could resist the pull of the full moon. He had stripped off his clothing once inside and had scratched at his skin until it was covered in bloody welts. He needed to transform, the instinct was pounding in his head like a drum. He whined and stumbled as the bones in his feet broke. He fell to the ground and choked on a mouthful of blood. It was coming—there was no stopping it—

A howl from the outside broke through his screams, it was the alpha wolf calling for him. Then, a softer echo from the omega wolf. Shiloh felt his hold break and the shapeshift ripped through him with such aggression that his body nearly exploded. Bones broke, his bleeding skin was covered in fur, and his skull crunched and morphed into that of a wolf. He choked on vomit, curling up on the ground, which was soaked with his blood and vomit. His hands broke and became paws, giant claws pressing through his nails, and his insides mashed together before reforming in all the right places.

Shiloh didn’t know how long he laid there. He had his eyes closed, and his nose was pressed into the blood-soaked rug beneath him. His entire body _hurt,_ throbbing from the force behind his transformation. His changes had always hurt in the past, but he had never been so frightened to change before. There was a tiny part of him that was sure that all this was some elaborate trick, and when Shiloh let his guard down for even a second, it had seized control of him, nearly destroying all the progress he had made thus far.

When he finally opened his eyes it was to another deep howl from the outside.

Shaking Shiloh pushed up onto his long wolf-legs. His tail was tucked up in fear and his ears squared. His silver fur was matted and sticky with blood. He tried to clean it up, but there was too much of it, and the taste made him ill.

Another howl; they were asking for him.

Shiloh walked along the wall until he reached the door, then he flattened himself to the ground and looked out.

Out in the field, under the glowing light of the full moon and sparkling stars, stood two wolves. One was so much larger than the other that it should have been funny.

He whined in surprise as Therus, who’s wolf form was easily twice the size of his own, walked from the field. His midnight black fur absorbed all moonlight, like a black hole. His blue eyes however reflected the light, making them glow white. 

Werewolves weren’t built like wolves. In addition to being bigger and stronger, everything about them was slightly exaggerated. Their legs were longer, and their snouts thicker to hold powerful teeth; their ears long and bigger, and they carried a lot of muscle in their front legs and jaws. Werewolves were made to hunt and kill, and move silently through any environment. Therus’ fur absorbed the light, making him a living shadow, and his heavy fur muffled the sound of the wind as it hit him.

Shiloh whined and ducked back into the house, ears squared and tail up between his legs. The shadow grew closer and closer, until a wolf crossed the threshold, but it wasn’t Therus. It was Fenton; the omega was smaller like himself, but more thickly built; he was healthy and built for running. His fur was silky and dark brown, with touches of white on his face, belly, and tail. His green eyes were bright and there was a smile on his wolf face.

 _Shy?_ Fenton asked as he slowly wagged his tail and cocked his head. The house smelled like blood, and when he turned his head he could see it all over the floor, even on the wall. Shiloh’s fur was matted with it. The other omega was thin, so horribly thin, with thick scars sliced into his fur. When the other wolf put his head down, Fenton saw the heavy, ugly scars over the back of his neck, carved there from years and years of abuse.

 _Can you hear me, Shiloh?_ he asked.

Shiloh’s body trembled and he exhaled shakily. _Yes,_ he finally answered. _I’m not used to speaking this way._

Fenton whined and dropped his tail. His packmate had suffered through so many years of abuse, so many full moons un-celebrated and spent in hours of terror and submission. Not this one, not ever again. Fenton wagged his tail and stepped up to the other wolf. When Shiloh didn’t pull away, he rubbed against him, exchanging scents, and started to lick him clean, revealing beautiful silver fur and ears and a face that were touched with black and brown. 

_Come on, Shiloh,_ he encouraged as he walked back to the door. _The night is ours._

 _Where’s Therus?_ He asked as he slowly followed him. Such a simple exchange had him feeling better. His fur was no longer matted and he smelled like his packmate. The moon was calling to him, her simple song humming in his ears and vibrating through his bones. This was all brand-new, this was his first moon to celebrate and the adrenaline was starting to pump through his veins.

 _Hunting,_ Fenton said simply. He didn’t have the heart to tell him that Therus might not come back tonight, that he had seen the fear in Shiloh’s big grey eyes and had ran off, because he didn’t want to ruin the omega’s night. Fenton just hoped that once he got Shiloh out, loosened up, and howling, the alpha would come back to them.

He followed the other omega out of the house and into the night. He stopped when his paws touched grass, and he turned his head up to the sky. The moon was rising above them, a full glowing orb of humming light. Stars were scattered around her, blinking like fireflies. The air was clean, cool; the sounds of the night music had his large ears twitching back and forth. In the distance Shiloh could hear an owl, the soft breaths of a frightened rabbit, and the wind as it moved through blades of grass and the leaves in the trees. It caressed through his fur, pushing against him like a gentle hand, smoothing his fur back and making his skin beneath shiver.

He closed his eyes and listened to the world around him, felt the moonlight as it soaked into the fur. He could hear Fenton standing nearby, silent and waiting patiently. He smelled him, earthy and sweet, his packmate and his friend. Therus’ scent was present even if the alpha was not, powerful and heavy, but it held within it the same allure it did when he was a man: Therus smelled like home.

Shiloh opened his eyes and turned his head to the other wolf.

Fenton wagged his tail. _You’re so pretty, Shy,_ he sighed. Under the light of the moon, light shined off his silver fur like starshine, and his eyes glowed a brilliant grey-blue. He looked like he belonged in the sky amongst the stars, a constellation that was always bright and glowing. He looked up at the moon and dropped his ears back before howling.

The rush Shiloh felt in that moment had his legs wobbling, and he threw his head back and belted out a howl that drown out Fenton’s voice and spooked a flock of birds. He sang until his lungs burned, and he was forced to stop to breathe. His chest heaved and he looked around, ears flicking with uncertainty. 

Fenton bounded over to him, bumping against him playfully, and threw his head back to howl again, which drew Shiloh into an encore, unable to think twice about the noise he was making. Because he didn’t care. He was free, he could howl as long as loud as he wanted; his lungs had ached for this for five years.

His howl broke into a whimper and whine, and he breathed heavily through little cries. He leaned hard against Fenton who supported his weight and licked across his nose and his face, holding him and calming him until Shiloh’s shaking stopped and he was calming down. There was so much pain still inside him, pent up in every scar from his former alpha, and they would never hearl, but he could start to let it go. He could do this--he could be free. He could as wild and carefree as Fenton, going out into the world, living as he liked.

And Therus. Therus would be there when he needed him. Like a proper alpha, he would protect him, while letting him live free. He looked around now, for the larger wolf, but he couldn’t even smell him now. How far had he ran? Would he come back tonight? Did he hear their howling? Because if he had, he hadn’t responded.

Fenton pushed him with his nose. _Let’s run_ , he insisted. 

Shiloh didn’t need to be asked twice. He flicked his tail and bolted, letting his long legs carry him into the field. Fenton caught up with him and easily kept his pace. They raced through the field, leaped a barbwire fence into a wheat field, and chased down rabbits, scared up birds, and ran until they were in the trees.

They didn’t stop for hours, only pausing to drink from a stream and to play in it. They howled and sang, tracked possible prey through trees and over hills, before turning around and returning back to the house. Shiloh trotted with his tail held high and his ears perked, with Fenton at his side, tongue hanging from his mouth and a big smile on his face.

Shiloh slowed when he saw a large figure waiting for them. Therus was standing over the carcass of a large stag. Shiloh could smell the blood from here. He glanced nervously at Fenton, falling back to follow the other omega through the field and to yard in the back of the house.

Fenton stopped, stepped to the side, and sat down. Shiloh frowned at him, flicking his tail nervously as he looked at Therus, who was staring at him with eyes as dark as the night sky. This close he could see that Therus’ fur, while dark and seemed to absorb all light, was very thick and fluffy. His tail was puffier than he would have imagined, and his muzzle long and powerful. He was lean and graceful, but when he moved even the smallest bit, there was a ripple of muscle. He was indeed an alpha werewolf.

Therus looked down at the dead animal before he reached down, opening his mouth to show off all his powerful teeth, and grabbed it by the shoulder. He lifted it and dragged it over to Shiloh, who stood frozen, and dropped it at his paws, before stepping back and waiting.

 _What’s happening?_ Shiloh whined as he glanced at Fenton, who was sitting nearby.

The dark brown wolf rolled his head back with amusement. He knew exactly what was happening, but he wasn’t going to explain it. Instead he turned, pretending to be distracted by a horde of fireflies and went after them.

Shiloh whined as the other omega left and he was forced to look back to Therus, who was sitting and waiting. He looked down at the dead stag, which had been killed with one large bite to the neck. It was in otherwise perfect condition, meaning that Therus hadn’t eaten any of it.

Why? He was alpha, this was his kill, why wouldn’t he eat any of it? Why give it to him--

It hit him hard, and Shiloh whined loudly in surprise. Was this… was he… Was Therus _courting him?_

If he accepted this gift, then he would be accepting the courtship. He dug his claws into the dirt beneath him and looked up to the moon, shining brightly down on them like a spotlight. Shiloh let the sounds of the night wash over him, shivering as moonlight caressed his fur, as the night air moved around them, and the heavy scent of his alpha filled his nose. 

_Therus smelled like home._

He dropped his head and sniffed at the stag. It was a massive, impressive beast, and had to have been hard for even a werewolf like Therus to take down and drag all the way back here. He looked up, meeting blue eyes, before he tore into the dead animal’s stomach. Blood flowed down his throat and meat filled his mouth. It tasted better than any food he had eaten as a human. He growled, tail thrashing, as he continued to eat, not caring that blood coated his head and wet his fur, not caring that he was growling as he ate until his belly was full and he felt heavy and satisfied.

Therus hadn’t moved an inch. Only when Shiloh raised his head and licked his tongue over his bloody muzzle did the alpha stand and approach him. He then started to eat, his sharp teeth cutting easily through fur, flesh and bone. Shiloh watched him as he sat back, licking the blood off his paws and legs.

After Therus ate his fill he turned around, flicking his ears around in confusion. When he spotted their packmate he howled to him.

Fenton howled back, but didn’t come over. Instead he trotted through the tall grass and out of sight.

Shiloh flicked his ears back. _He was mad at me for almost ditching him, but then he ditches me?_ he thought grumily to himself. He glanced at Therus as the alpha walked around the carcass to him. He stood up quickly and flicked his ears back nervously. 

_Therus?_ he asked after a deep breath.

The large werewolf cocked his head. _Yes?_ He asked as he started to lick the blood from Shiloh’s silver fur.

He shivered and dropped his tail. _Tell me I’m not reading this wrong,_ he whispered.

 _You’re not,_ Therus promised as he took special care licking the scars on the back of his neck.

He whined, the cry caught in his throat. _How long have you felt this way?_

Therus paused and took a deep breath. He turned and rubbed his body against the other wolf’s. Shiloh leaned back against him, warm and full from his feast. He smelled like blood and pack, but also like moonlight and sea salt. Therus buried his nose into the other wolf’s fur and inhaled, letting his scent wash over him, intoxicate him.

_From the first second I saw you._


	8. PART THREE - Chapter Eight

Shiloh needed time to process all this new information, so he politely excused himself from the situation and turned, trotting away from the house. Thankfully Fenton had rejoined them moments earlier, and was sharing in the meat that Therus had brought back.

For him specifically, because the alpha was courting him, and Shiloh had accepted the courtship.

Which meant… he and the alpha wolf… were on the way to being a mated pair, because Therus… liked him.

_From the first second I saw you._

He knew Therus wasn’t lying, but that had to be a lie.

Right?

He huffed and flicked his large ears back. He picked his way through the long grass until he was standing in a large open area where he couldn’t see the house anymore. He sat down and tilted his head up. The moon was falling to the West and the sky was starting to lighten. He could feel the hold on him starting to wane, and if he tried, he might have been able to transform back into a man, but right now, he wanted to be a wolf.

He flicked his tail and ran his tongue over his muzzle, which was still bloody. He was dirty from his transformation, from his run through the countryside with Fenton, and finally, from eating. He was going to have to take a very long, hot shower once he was back at the house.

Would Therus insist on joining him?

He felt his heart clench and his body both heat up and cool off with dread. Therus had never tried to take advantage of him, certainly this courtship wouldn’t change that. But, sooner or later, he would expect Shiloh to submit and lay on his belly to be fucked, wouldn’t he?

The silver wolf closed his eyes and whined. It wouldn’t be fair for him not to have sex with Therus… if they were courting, it meant that Therus wanted to be his mate…

And hadn’t he, just earlier, been entertaining the idea of being intimate with the alpha?

But now they were courting--Therus wanted to be his mate, for whatever fucking reason.

_From the first second I saw you._

He threw his head back and howled. It was insane! All this was absolutely insane! Why would Therus court him? Fenton was right there! They had been friends for years, they had sex, and the other omega was healthy and handsome, had a fantastic personality, and knew everything the alpha liked or didn’t.

So why was he asking Shiloh to be his?

Oh god, did this mean Therus _loved_ him?

No. No. Absolutely not. There was nothing to love in Shiloh, that he was sure of. He was a mess, and he was nothing to look at. Why would an alpha like Therus, handsome and strong and fucking perfect, look at him?

He didn’t realize he was panting and whining until a larger, warmer body was suddenly pressing against him and he was overwhelmed by the alpha’s heavy scent. Therus whined in response and nuzzled against him, licking comfortingly at his neck and ears.

 _Shiloh, breathe,_ Therus gently encouraged. _What’s wrong?_

Shiloh flattened his ears and tucked his tail. _I’m freaking out,_ he admitted.

 _Why?_ Therus asked worriedly as he walked around the omega, ears squared and tail wagging with worry, as he sniffed at him for injury or illness. He smelled horribly of fear and anxiety; Therus had picked up on his scent all the way back at the house and ran across the field to find him whining and crying.

 _Because I don’t understand why you like me!_ he cried as he started to pace. The sun was rising and he was going to start changing back soon. He didn’t want to walk all the way across the field naked and in his human skin, so he whirled around started to walk back toward the house. 

Therus turned and walked next to the smaller wolf. Shiloh had his head down and his tail between his legs, and every step was shorter and shorter. He was tired. Therus leaned against him and nuzzled at his ears. _I like everything about you,_ Therus said as the house came into view. _I admire your bravery, and you’re incredibly strong. I’m amazed everyday at how much you’re growing, how much you’ve come out of your shell. I see the way you with Fen, I see the way you’re opening up, and I love who I see._

Shiloh tripped, stopped, and fell to the ground as the moon’s hold let go like a snapping rubber band. He grit his teeth as the transformation ripped through him, but it wasn’t with the same devastating force that had happened earlier. He wasn’t holding back, and the weight of the alpha wolf at his side helped him with the change. 

He could hear bones crunching as Therus changed back as well, and then the man’s hand was sliding up his back.

“Shiloh?” Therus asked gently.

Shiloh looked to the man crouching next to him. He let out a weak sigh and asked, “Will you carry me back?” He hated asking, but he was exhausted, mentally and physically, and everything hurt. 

“I’d love to,” Therus said as he gently gathered the smaller man into his arms, holding him bridal-style. Then Shiloh was curled against him for warmth and comfort. Therus kissed the top of his head as he started to walk. “In the afternoon, we can talk more about this. I won’t hold you to anything you don’t want to do, Shiloh.”

 _Jesus, he’s giving me an out,_ he realized as tears ran down his face. _I accepted his courtship, and he’s giving me the option to back out of it. How is this man so perfect?_

“I don’t want to do that,” he whispered as he leaned his head on Therus’ chest. “I just… I don’t want to let you down.”

“You can never do that,” Therus promised as they approached the house. He saw Fenton waiting for them at the door. The other omega’s eyes widened with worry and he stepped outside. “I hadn’t planned on… courting you last night, honestly. But I heard your song, and then I saw you and Fen running through the moonlight and I… I couldn’t stop myself. I was so mesmerized by your beauty that I had to tell you how I truly felt.”

“You’re an idiot,” Shiloh mumbled as he covered his face with his hands.

Therus laughed. Fenton opened the door and he walked inside. “That, I am. I’m sure Fenton would agree.”

Fenton fretted for a second, before he saw that Shiloh wasn’t hurt, just tired, and asked, “I’m sure I would, but about what?”

“That I’m an idiot.”

He laughed. “You can be an idiot,” he agreed. “But for what this time?”

Therus motioned for the other omega to follow them up to the second floor bedrooms and he carried Shiloh into the master suite to lay him down in the middle of the large bed. 

Shiloh leaned up on his elbows. “I told him he’s an idiot for courting me.”

Fenton sat down on the other side of the bed, which shifted as Therus laid down as well. “Oh, Shy, I told him he was an idiot for not courting you the second he brought you back to the apartment.”

Shiloh frowned at him. There was a moment where no one spoke, as they pulled up the blankets and everything laid down and got comfortable. Exhaustion was hitting him hard and he curled up on his side. Therus was lying behind him, but on his back, and was careful not to touch him, but he could feel the heat rolling off the larger man. He stared at Fenton, who was lying and looking at him.

“You’re both idiots,” Shiloh sighed.

“You can call me an idiot everyday,” Fenton said as he cupped Shiloh’s face and leaned in to kiss him, “but that won’t stop me loving you.”

“Fuck,” he choked. “I don’t deserve this.”

“You deserve this, and so much more,” Fenton promised. He looked over Shiloh’s shoulder to Therus and growled at him. The alpha frowned back. “Therus is dying to spoon you.”

Shiloh flinched in surprise. He looked over his shoulder at the man, who was blushing hotly and staring at the ceiling. He swallowed hard and turned back to the other omega. “I guess… I guess I wouldn’t… mind that.”

“Are you sure?” Therus asked in surprise.

“If it bothers me, I’ll tell you,” Shiloh said as he trembled. He was inviting a large, naked, and probably aroused alpha to curl up against his backside, and that was terrifying. He closed his eyes as Therus slowly rolled over and scooted up behind him. Strong arms closed around him and the man’s larger body fit easily against him. He could feel Therus’ breath in his hair as he tucked his face against the top of his head. 

However, it wasn’t scary. It wasn’t scary at all. Therus was solid and warm, and nothing about his embrace was threatening. In fact, Shiloh was sure that the man fell asleep five seconds after cuddling up against him.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Fenton was smiling at him. “That’s not so scary, is it?” he whispered.

Shiloh blushed. “No.”

“One day at a time, Shy,” Fenton reminded him as he yawned and curled up with him. “One day at a time.”

One day at a time, he reminded himself. He shifted a bit, until he was comfortable, and felt himself drifting off. They believed in him, they loved him…and maybe he could learn to believe in and love himself.

…

Sometime after two in the afternoon Shiloh woke up. He had wiggled himself around and was now facing Therus, still in his arms, with his face tucked into the man’s chest. The alpha was still asleep and snoring quietly. When Shiloh turned around he saw that Fenton was gone from the bed, and by the looks of it, had been for a while.

Slowly, because it was difficult in the man’s embrace, Shiloh sat up so he could look down at the man. Therus was a such a force to be reckoned with, but in sleep he was extremely soft. Shiloh tenderly reached down to touch a lock of the man’s hair, before his fingertips grazed an old, faded scar cut into the man’s shoulder. He had so many, more than Shiloh, who looked down at the scars on his chest and belly, and reached back to touch the horrible cluster of them on the back of his neck.

It then occurred to him, as Therus grunted in his sleep and wrapped a strong around him and dragged him back down into the bed and against him, that he had never spent a night wrapped in another person’s arms. Sure, he and Fen had cuddled and the omega had held him after nightmares, but it was nothing like this. The only good thing Devon had ever done was leave Shiloh alone after hurting him, he had never been forced to sleep in the alpha’s bed, or be held in his arms.

He exhaled as Therus held him closer, his chin resting on the top of Shiloh’s head. Because Therus was taller and wider than himself, they fit perfectly together. He was just small enough that Therus could cradle him against him without either of them being uncomfortable. However in this position, it meant that their pelvises were pressed firmly together, and Shiloh could definitely feel that the man had morning wood.

Worse, he could smell it. The heavy scent of an alpha wolf ready to mate was a terrifying scent if one didn’t reciprocate the same feelings. But Therus smelled nothing like Devon, their scents were completely different, and it was and understatement to say that his scent didn’t have an effect on him.

 _Shit,_ he whined. He had gone years without sexual arousal of any kind, now it felt like his body was trying to make up for lost time. First with Fen, and now he was responding simply to Therus’ scent and his cock which was pressing against his abdomen.

He closed his eyes. If Therus smelled him, would he expect him to roll over? Shiloh’s body was telling the alpha that he, too, wanted sex. But Shiloh wasn’t sure if he was ready for that mentally yet. Hell, was he ready physically? He had let Fen suck him off once, and they had done some things with their hands, but nothing close to sex or penetration.

At the thought (and mental image) of Therus bending him over, Shiloh had a wallop of mixed emotions.

The wolf inside him was thrilled. Be this alpha’s mate? Good!

Shiloh himself immediately felt nauseous, and it wasn’t just from the thought of being fucked, but from a sudden surge of self-consciousness that suggested Therus might find his body too used and broken, and would reject him.

It was a horrible cocktail of thoughts and it had Shiloh jerking away from Therus, stumbling from the bed as the alpha woke with a grunt, and hiding in the bathroom.

To his credit, he didn’t throw up this time.

But he also didn’t open the door or answer when Therus knocked on it and asked, “Shiloh? Are you okay? What happened?”

Goddamnit, he sounded worried. Worried for him! Shiloh dropped his face into his hands as he paced the large bathroom. When Therus knocked again he stopped and tore at his hair.

“Shiloh?” Therus asked again. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I’ll leave if you ask me to.”

He bit his lip and finally answered, “I didn’t lock it.”

The door opened and Therus slowly stepped in. At the sight of the omega, frightened, aroused, and very pale, he couldn’t stop from crossing the room to him.

But Shiloh jumping back and growling was a very unexpected reaction, and Therus froze in place, frowning with worry, before it occurred to him how he smelled.

“Shy,” he spoke gently, “I’m not going to try to have sex with you.”

“I know,” he said, his voice hitching in a whimper. He saw the anxiety in the man’s eyes, and he hated that the man was suffering over him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said gently. He looked around before he saw a housecoat hanging from a hook on the back of the door. But instead of pulling it on himself, he offered it out to Shiloh. The younger man was trying to cover himself and looked very uncomfortable. When Shiloh stepped up to him and turned around, Therus took the invite and draped the robe over his shoulders.

Shiloh shakily tugged it on and tied the belt around his waist. He turned around and rubbed his eyes. “Regretting last night, yet?”

Therus shook his head and answered immediately, “No.”

After swaying slightly, he stepped forward and into the man’s arms. Therus hugged him and nuzzled the top of his head. “What if I never get better?” He gasped.

“You already are,” Therus promised. “You’re getting stronger everyday.”

Shiloh hugged him back. “I don’t want to be afraid of you,” he said. “I want to… I want to mate with you without being scared.”

Therus was quiet for a second. He had come to the realization when he decided to court Shiloh that they may not have sex in a long time, if ever. The man was scarred, mentally and physically, and that kind of damage didn’t just go away. Shiloh may not want to have sex ever again in his life, and Therus had been prepared for that. Would it have been an inconvenience? Absolutely. Therus would be lying if he said he didn’t like sex, but he liked Shiloh more.

But now, with Shiloh confessing he did want sex, well, that changed everything, and it also made him incredibly nervous. What if they tried to mate and Shiloh got scared? Worse, what if he got scared, and refused to say anything.

His stomach dropped. He would not, absolutely would not, hurt the omega. He wanted Shiloh to be comfortable around him, and to be happy. For that to happen, they had a lot to work on.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help you,” he finally said. “And we won’t do anything you don’t want to do. I’m perfectly fine with an abstinent relationship, Shiloh. I’m not going to have a meltdown if we don’t have sex.”

He let out a cry. He really did not deserve this man. He cried against him, until Therus picked him up and carried him back to the bedroom. But when Therus set him down and went to step away, Shiloh dug his claws in and pulled him down with him.

Therus chuckled. “You could have just asked.”

He blushed. “Will you lay with me?”

Therus happily obliged, and was even happier when Shiloh nestled against him. But Shiloh wasn’t feeling very sleepy, no, he was feeling many other things. He nuzzled against the alpha’s neck, taking a deep breath of his comforting pheromones. He was trying to think of the best way to go about this relationship, whatever it was, when he frowned and looked up.

“Therus?”

“Hmm?” He had picked up his phone from the nightstand and had been thumbing through work emails. He had also popped in couple of mints, reminding Shiloh if their first meeting. He set the phone down and turned his attention to the omega who was lying against him.

“You were really willing to be with me, even if I never wanted to have sex with you?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Is that so hard to believe?”

He blushed. “Well… kind of? It’s kind of a big lifestyle change, isn’t it?”

Therus laughed loudly. “How often do you think I have sex?”

Shiloh stammered. “I didn’t mean to assume you--you like--um,” he grumbled. “I didn’t mean it like that. I simply meant that… normal people like… you know. Have sex. And you’re, you know, you, and you’re gorgeous, and I can’t imagine that people aren’t… throwing themselves at you.”

“Shiloh, I don’t get out much,” Therus admitted. “I work a lot, and I want to just go home, and relax. Fenton is the one who goes out and has fun and parties. I’m more than happy having a quiet night in. On Fridays I like to take the bike out, just to get out of the city. I find new restaurants and dives to eat at, sometimes I go hiking. I’m kind of boring.”

Shiloh started to laugh and he pressed his face against the man’s chest. “None of that sounds boring!” he argued. “It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Well, then we can do it together?” Therus suggested as he nuzzled at Shiloh’s ear. “I would love to take you out on a proper date.”

He tilted his head up. Slowly he kissed at the man’s jaw. “What do people do on dates these days?” he asked.

A sudden loud knocking at the door had them both jumping. Shiloh sat up in surprise as the door flew open and Fenton stood there, arms crossed, and an annoyed expression on his face. “Are you two going to ignore me all afternoon?”

Therus picked his cell phone back up to finish the email he had been replying to. “I’d forgotten you were even here,” he teased.

“Bite me,” Fenton huffed as he strode into the room and dropped onto the bed. Therus was naked, and Shiloh was in a housecoat. “So, what have you two been doing?”

“Talking,” Shiloh said. “I’m starving. Is there anything to eat?”

“I had some leftovers,” Fenton said. 

“Did you leave anything?” Therus asked as he looked up from his phone.

“Nope.”

He grunted. “I’d ask you to make us something, but the last time you tried to cook we lost our security deposit.”

“I’m a man of many talents but cooking isn’t one of them,” Fenton pointed out.

Shiloh chuckled. He looked down at Therus, who had shifted around until he was resting his head on Shiloh’s thigh. He blushed and slowly threaded his fingers through the man’s hair. “We can’t all be perfect at everything.”

Fenton smiled softly. “So, what were you talking about? How boring Therus actually is?”

Therus ignored him and Shiloh gave in. “We were talking about what we could do as a date.”

“No movies,” Fenton immediately ordered. “You won’t talk at all. No family restaurants filled with kids, or sports bars filled with drunken idiots. Go out somewhere kind of nice, talk and get tipsy, go dancing and sing karaoke, maybe go to the aquarium and make out like teenagers.”

Shiloh squinted at him. “Did you already have this planned out?” he asked.

“That’s ridiculous,” Fenton dismissed with a wave of his hand. He stood. “I’ll throw in some pizzas for you, if you two shower first.”

Shiloh’s eyes widened. “How bad?”

“Mm, wolf fur, sweat and blood,” Fenton said. “Pretty typical. Oh, I cleaned up the floor, too.”

Therus frowned thoughtfully. He had seen the mess Shiloh’s transformation had caused and he was honestly surprised it hadn’t killed him. His change back into his skin had been entirely different, because he hadn’t been wound nearly as tight, and he had always been exhausted. But it was still more violent than it should have ever been.

“Tonight will go better,” Therus promised as he sat up and touched Shiloh’s shoulder.

He rubbed his head. He fucking hoped so, last night’s change had hurt more than he ever remembered, and he was still feeling the ache his morning. There was also a growing itch to run and be closer to his pack. He wanted to ignore everything Fenton had just said and curl back up with Therus, but his stomach let out a loud rumble.

And the other man was right, they both smelled.

Shiloh stood just as Therus did. “Oh, go ahead,” he said, gesturing to the bathroom.

“It has two shower-heads,” Therus pointed out. “Shower with me?”

Shiloh dug his toes into the rug beneath his feet. “Okay.”

Fenton grinned and left to start the food. Shiloh watched him go before he followed Therus into the large bathroom. The shower stall was large enough for more than three people, with fancy shower heads on either side. The tile was white and light grey, with a geometric pattern to it. There was a frosted glass window higher up on the wall that let in an incredible amount of natural light.

Shiloh hung up the housecoat and joined Therus, who was already washing up. He started the water and stood under the hot spray, then grabbed a loofah and soap an started to scrub. He was surprised at how much dried blood washed off of him. He made a mental note to change the bed sheets because there was no way they weren’t dirty, too.

“Okay,” Shiloh said as he washed his hair. “I have to ask, what do you do again? For your job?”

Therus chuckled. “Right now I’m a financial manager at a large cooperation,” he said. 

Fenton was right, it was boring and with numbers. “Why?”

“The pay is crazy, I’m good with numbers, and my boss is a werewolf, too, so getting time off for the moon is easy,” he explained.

That made more sense. “Do you like it?”

“I like it for now,” Therus said. “I won’t do it forever.” He rinsed his hair and turned around. Shiloh had his back to him and had bent over to rewarsh his feet, where he had missed some blood. He could see the knobs of his spine, the shape of his ribs; there were scars from abuse dug deep into his skin, and an ugly bite from a werewolf.

 _Devon._ Therus again regretted not torturing the monster. However, even though the omega was still very unhealthy, he was already showing signs of improvement. His skin wasn’t as pale, he wasn’t bruised, there were no fresh wounds; he also looked like he had put on a couple pounds. 

Shiloh straightened up and turned around. He jumped in surprise. “What?”

“Just admiring the view,” he said with a smile and a shrug.

Shiloh kicked water at him. “Uh-huh,” he said before doing the same. Therus’ tanned skin was glistening and wet. He had his own share of scars, from battles that Shiloh was sure he won, and two full tattoo sleeves. He was all hard edges and muscle, but the softness in his expression had Shiloh’s heart melting.

He stepped forward slowly, closing the space between them. Therus didn’t move, only watched him curiously. With a deep breath, Shiloh reached out and slid his hands up Therus’ chest.

The alpha rumbled a pleased growl and tilted his head.

Shiloh slid his hands up, grazing his fingers over scars as he did, until he was cupping the man’s face. He stared up into his eyes, before, with the slightest motion and standing on his toes, went in for a kiss.

It was soft. Therus sighs into it and raised his hands to gently grip the other man’s shoulders, pressing hard with his fingers to anchor himself. He slanted his mouth and Shiloh eagerly kissed him harder, parting his lips for a lick. Therus groaned and deepened it, tasting the omega.

Shiloh whined in surprise and his knees went weak. Therus was kissing him gently, but it was the hottest kiss of his life. The man was slowly devouring him; his tongue, teeth and lips drew a moan from him. Shiloh slid his hands further up and tangled them in the man’s hair, pulling, and made Therus growl deeper in his chest.

He was growing dizzy, and the kiss was seemingly lasting forever. Shiloh whined again, pressing against the other man, and finally had to break away.

They were both breathing heavy. Therus was flushed and his eyes darker with lust. Shiloh licked his lips and let his hands drop down to Therus’s shoulders again.

“Wow,” he breathed, before leaning up for more. Therus eagerly kissed him again, tongue driving into his mouth and teeth gently biting. Shiloh eagerly returned it, nipping and sucking, while digging his nails into the man’s shoulders.

Gods, he wanted more of this; he wanted this to last forever. When he pressed against him and stood taller on his toes, Therus responded by grabbing Shiloh by his waist and lifting him up. With both legs wrapped around the other man, Shiloh was able to focus all his energy into the kiss. Therus groaned and he whined in response, and once again was pulling the man’s hair.

Therus broke away this time. He was breathing heavy and his heart was racing. He looked at the omega, his blushing face and bruised lips, and there was a hunger in his stormy grey eyes. A passion that Therus had never seen Shiloh exhibit before. He was very aware of how small Shiloh’s waist was in his hands, and could feel the squeeze of his legs. Shiloh was a runner, and he could feel the power there, and he wanted nothing more than to have those legs wrapped around him for forever. He kissed his lips again before mouthing down his neck, causing Shiloh to gasp.

There was so much he wanted to do, but Therus reeled in his lust and returned to kiss the omega once before slowly lowering him to his feet. Shiloh wobbled a little before taking a step back.

“Wow,” he sighed again. Then he laughed and waved his hands. “I don’t mean to repeat myself—but that was—wow.”

Therus laughed and leaned down to kiss him, but pulled back before they got carried away again. “You’re amazing,” he praised as he turned off the water. He opened the shower door for them and Shiloh shivered as they stepped out into the bathroom to dry off.

Shiloh wrapped himself up in the housecoat before excusing himself to the room he was sharing with Fenton, where all his clothing and bags were. He wondered if he would sleep here in the morning after the moon, or would it would be with Therus again? It seemed stupid for the three of them to sleep in seperate beds, it was much more comforting and comfortable for them to be together.

Thinking of it gave him a rush. No, he wasn’t scared or nauseous, he was excited. It was a whole new feeling for Shiloh. He felt warm and fluttery, with goosebumps and a pounding heart. Excited, he actually felt excited. And when he thought about Therus it was accompanied by an eagerness to be near him.

He laughed to himself and pulled on sweatpants and a hoodie. He could smell pizza and hear music playing from downstairs, and he quickly headed that way now as he fumbled with his hair, tying it back in a messy bun.

Fenton was dancing around the kitchen, and when he saw Shiloh he moved gracefully over to him and took his hands, pulling him forward. “Wow, look at you glow.”

Shiloh shook his head bashfully and clumsily moved around the kitchen with the other omega. “No, I’m not.”

“Mm-hm,” he teased. He took Shiloh’s hand and spun him slowly. “You got the glow of someone in love.”

“I’m not—“ he started before he froze and the other man stumbled to a stop. _Wait_ , did he? Was it possible to love someone after such a short period of time? Fenton had told him that he loved him, but there was a difference in loving someone and being in love. He thought about it for a second before he came to the conclusion that he cared for the alpha. But it wasn’t love, not yet.

He told Fenton just as much, who nodded with a smile. Fenton insisted on dancing more, until the oven timer went off. As soon as Therus joined them the three went to sit outside in the sun with plates of pizza and assorted choice in drinks. The afternoon was hot, but there was a nice breeze and plenty of clouds for moments of shade. Shiloh made himself comfortable by sitting on a lounger with Therus, an achievement both men were pleased by.

After eating, Shiloh stretched out in the sun with Therus next to him. The big alpha eventually fell asleep, rolling over and wrapping one solid arm around Shiloh and resting his cheek on his chest. Feeling full from food, and warm from the sun, Shiloh honestly couldn’t think of a better way to spend the afternoon. He did feel bad that he couldn’t go down to the pool with Fen without waking Therus, and he almost called out to the other omega to ask him to join them, before he saw that he had stretched out on a pool float and was reading on his phone.

He shifted a little, curling his body against Therus’, and threaded his fingers through the man’s soft black hair. He was again surprised at the softness the man displayed when asleep; a vulnerability. But Therus had been through so much, and if Shiloh could bring him a little bit of peace, he would.

The alpha was right, they were all broken here, and healing. Shiloh wasn’t alone, and he wasn’t unloved. He had a home here, and he had a man who…

Who wanted him, for who he was, and would support him no matter what.

For the first time in years, when he cried, it wasn’t out of pain, sadness or fear, it was with relief. Therus woke up when he sniffled, raising his head and blinking the sleep from his eyes. 

“I’m not crying,” Shiloh hiccuped as he quickly rubbed his eyes. “I mean, I am, but not for any bad reason.”

Therus leaned up on his elbow. Shiloh certainly didn’t look or smell afraid or injured. He touched his cheek, brushing his thumb through tears. “You’re okay?”

“I’m happy,” he sputtered. 

Therus’ eyes stung with tears of his own, and when Shiloh dropped against him, he lay back and held him tight. “That makes me happy,” he whispered in his ear before kissing it.

…

Shiloh collapsed back onto the heap of blankets, squirming as Fenton tackled him, his hands finding their way up his shirt to tickle his ribs. It wasn’t long until moonrise, and the three had moved outside to drink and play cards, after a late afternoon hike and then a protein-packed supper. Therus had excused himself to take a phone call, and leaving the two omegas to their own entertainment, which had quickly gone from teasing, to wrestling, tickling and finally, kissing.

Shiloh tangled his hands in Fenton’s long messy hair and pulled him down onto him. Fenton straddled the other man, moaning into the kiss, as Shiloh licked into his mouth.

“Fuck,” he gasped, “you’re getting good at that.”

“I have a good teacher,” Shiloh said with a grin. 

Fenton nuzzled at him before kissing him again, and slowly rocked their hips together. He felt like he was on fire, his skin was tingling and itchy and his bones were aching for the change. His brain was a frantic mess, flipping through thoughts like someone changing the channels on the television. He wanted to kiss, he wanted to fuck, he wanted to sleep, he wanted to eat; run and dance and watch the sun set. Right now he focussed on his more carnal desires, grounding against Shiloh as he devoured his mouth.

He only stopped when he went to lick at Shiloh’s neck and he smelled Therus’ heavy scent. The two had been nuzzling earlier, scenting each other, and he smelled and tasted it now. He huffed somewhat and sat up. 

Shiloh stared up at him with an irritated expression. He was blushing and panting, and he wasn’t done. “Why did you stop?”

“I spent so much time trying to get the two of you together that I didn’t take into consideration that once you were, we would have to stop this,” he said with a gesture.

Shiloh frowned. He ran his hands up Fenton’s thighs and under his shirt. “Why would we stop? You and Therus have sex, don’t you?”

Fenton blushed hotly. “You can’t be suggesting what I think you are,” he said.

“Why not?” he said with a shrug. His hands slid up Fenton’s stomach, over his chest, to his nipples. He smiled as he watched the other omega bit his lip and closed his eyes. “We’re pack, remember? We’re supposed to be together.”

“You kinky bastard,” he panted as Shiloh continued to tease him. He was hard and growing uncomfortable, and palmed himself through his shorts. He could feel that Shiloh was in the same position, and purposely ground down on him, which made him gasp. He continued to slowly rub against him, until the heavy scent of their sex filled the air. He looked to the house. “Maybe Therus will join us.”

Shiloh, panting loudly, gasped, “Join us how?”

“Not sex,” he reassured the other omega as he leaned down to kiss his the tip of his nose. “But he has smelled like dessert all fucking day and it’s been driving me as crazy as your lips. Let’s have some fun.”

He thought about it for a second, before the door opened the alpha came back out. He turned and saw Therus pause with a surprised expression. Shiloh blushed hotly. “We were bored,” he said.

“We were not bored,” Fenton corrected, “we’re horny as fuck. Take off your pants and get over here.”

“Jesus, Fen!” Shiloh moaned as he covered his face with his hands.

“You started this!” Fenton laughed as he tugged at Shiloh’s tank top. “Take off your clothes.”

He bit his lip and turned to Therus, who was staring at him. He knew the man was horny, he’d been smelling it all afternoon, and their make-out session in the forest hadn’t helped him any. Now the moon was close to rising and the alpha wolf was prowling close to the surface, and he could see the fierceness in his eyes. But there was hesitation, and his blue eyes were concerned.

 _He’s worried about me,_ Shiloh realized He sat up and Fenton slid out his lap to take off his clothes. “We just thought maybe… that we could… have some time together. As a pack.”

Therus felt like he had just died. He was certain his heart had exploded in his chest. He reached up to run his hand through his hair and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Together in what way?” he asked, needing absolute verification.

“No fucking,” Fenton said in a tone that far too casual. “At least, not Shy. You can fuck me. You both can.”

Shiloh groaned, dropping his hands into his face again, which was red as a strawberry. “Why did I suggest this?!”

“You’re so fucking cute,” Fenton laughed as he finished stripping. He tugged at the hem of the other omega’s shorts. “You comfortable getting naked?”

Shiloh lowered his hands and looked back to Therus, who hadn’t moved. “Actually…” he said slowly, “this might be… a good thing. For me. For the three of us.” Because it wasn’t just him and Therus in a room together, and they weren’t going to have sex. Fenton was here, and while he could be a little pushy, was always very considerate of his feelings, and even when they were just touching each other. It wasn’t so scary to think of being naked with Therus if the other man was here. 

Therus let out a rough curse. “Are you sure, Shiloh? One hundred percent?”

He nodded shakily. “One hundred percent.”

When the alpha started to strip, Shiloh sat and watched him. And when he was naked and approaching them, in all his glory and hard as hell, he willed himself to stay still. Sensing his anxiety, Fenton leaned over to kiss his cheek and ear. Therus sat down with them on the blankets, looking at him curiously, but not reaching for him or demanding he get naked.

“I’m going to keep my clothes on for right now, if that’s okay?” he finally said.

“Of course,” Therus said roughly. “Can I kiss you?”

Shiloh was pretty sure his heart was palpitating and that was why he was shaking. “Yes.”

Therus leaned over to kiss him and Shiloh leaned up into it, whining. He was already worked up from Fenton--who was now leaning against him, kissing at his neck. He felt his heart skip and his cock twitch in his shorts. His thighs were aching and he felt like he was ascending. Therus had his tongue in his mouth, he was growling and running his large hand down over the front of his pants, and Fenton was biting a bruise into his neck and rubbing at his lower back.

He whined loudly enough that he pulled back in surprise. He was breathing heavy and was sweating. Shiloh grabbed Therus, jerking him back in for another kiss, leaning up against his body. Therus’ growled and pulled him into his lap, his fingers pressing bruises into his back. 

Shiloh leaned back to breathe but was drawn into a kiss with Fenton, who was a bit too enthusiastic and pulled Shiloh back and onto the blankets. The two snorted and laughed, and Fenton leaned over him, kissing at his neck and nipping it. Shiloh saw Therus behind the other omega, kissing at his shoulders, his back, with his large hands sliding over his hips and around to fondle him.

Fenton whined eagerly, hips jerking. He kissed over Shiloh’s chest, leaving wet marks on his shirt, before settling between his legs and mouthing at his cock through his shorts. Shiloh moan and Therus groaned at the sight. He kept one hand wrapped around Fenton’s cock while the other went to rub at his ass.

“Mm,” Fenton moaned as he slid back up against Shiloh. “If I didn’t know better, Therus, I’d say you were trying to get me off so you could have Shiloh all to yourself.”

He laughed against the back of the omega’s neck. He looked at Shiloh over Fenton’s shoulder, his blue eyes smoldering and dark. “I'll have to if you’re going to keep stealing him from me.”

Shiloh blushed hotly, staring at the alpha that was kneeling behind the other man. Fenton was sandwiched between them, and couldn’t have been happier. Shiloh shifted a bit, letting Fenton rest between his legs, with Therus’ hand wedged between their groins. Suddenly he wished he had taken off his clothes.

“Want to strip?’ Fenton asked with a laugh when he saw Shiloh squirming.

“Um,” he gasped. He was aching, he was hot, he needed to be touched. “Yes!”

Fenton stood and Therus leaned back. Shiloh jerked off his shirt and his pants and sat up to kick them away. Fenton moved to his backside, and he found himself staring at Therus, who was looming over him hungrily.

“Kiss me,” he begged.

Therus did with a groan, capturing Shiloh’s lips and leaning between his legs. Fenton settled against Shiloh’s backside, his hands sliding over his sweaty hips to touch his cock. The contact made Shiloh roll his hips forward and Therus’ heart nearly burst out of his chest when the omega rubbed against him. He swore and bit roughly at his lips.

He felt the man’s cock sliding against his abdomen and reached down to touch it. Therus thrust into his hand and groaned, pushing him back as far as he could with Fenton behind him. The other omega was rubbing his cock against his lower back, being incredibly careful to avoid touching him too far down. But it didn’t frighten him, not at all, and Shiloh let out a sob as he let himself go, succumbing to the two of them.

He felt warmth against his backside as Fenton came first, whining and biting his shoulder, his body trembling and jerking. Then his hand was squeezing Shiloh’s cock, jerking it hard, and Shiloh sobbed, curling his claws into Therus’ shoulders and clinging to him. The alpha was leaving a series of bruises along Shiloh’s neck and chest, and thrusting into Shiloh’s hands. Shiloh dropped his head back, gasping as he came, his body shuddering and cum splashing his skin. He heard Therus groan and thrust against him hard as he came as well, his own seed dirtying Shiloh’s hands and belly. 

Fenton dropped back into the blanket, Shiloh lying on him, with Therus lying next to them. The three lay panting, eyes closed and mouths open, amd bodies shivering. Fenton was the first to move, and he pushed Shiloh onto Therus so he could stand up. “Wow, we made a mess.”

“On me,” Shiloh said with an exhausted laugh. His voice was slightly hoarse and he wondered how much noise he had actually made, honestly he didn’t remember much of anything beyond pleasure and the hungry stare of Therus’ eyes. He looked down at himself, because he was smeared with cum. He turned his face up to Therus, who was gazing at him with a loving smile.

Fenton dropped down onto Therus other side and curled up with him. “Does it bother you?” he asked.

Shiloh breathed a laugh against Therus’ chest. The man had his arm around him and was running his fingers up and down his spine. “It doesn’t,” he said. “Because it’s the two of you.” He was covered in bruises from fingers and mouths, and he could have cared less. He closed his eyes, tears on his face, as he cuddled with Therus. 

“Do you want to clean up before the moon rises?” Therus asked as he kissed at his face.

“I’m not moving,” he sighed heavily. He was comfortable and warm, and felt absolutely euphoric. He curled his claws into Therus. “Neither are you two.”

Fenton was laughing. “We wouldn’t dream of it, Shy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had some problems. First, I decided to edit some things out of chapter seven, so I deleted it, changed it, and added it back. Somehow I magically posted it twice when trying to edit it. When I went to delete it, I somehow deleted the very FIRST chapter. So I had to re-add the first chapter, then fix the seventh chapter, and that's why things are a mess and some comment and kudos are missing. I should have learned my lesson to do not do things late a night when I'm super tired, and especially when I'm manic. BUT IT'S FIXED (I think.)
> 
> This chapter took so long to write, but it was so much fun. I love these three so much. 
> 
> I had planned on finishing this up in the ninth chapter, but I might have to stretch it into another chapter or two. There's still a lot I want to write; very specific things I want to write about with Shiloh and Therus. There's also the second night of the moon, which was supposed to be included here, but this chapter got pretty long. I may or may not write it out... there's only so much you can do during the moon lol.
> 
> Thanks for reading and being patient with me! Love ya xoxo


	9. PART THREE - Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've had some creative difficulties for the last couple of months (obviously.) Sorry this took so long!

Shiloh stood among the wild flowers and tall grass, watching as fireflies blinked in and out of sight around him. Heavy clouds had rolled in shortly after moon-rise and blocked the light and twinkling stars above them. He could hear the distant rumble of thunder and smelled the heavy scent of rain on the air.

 _Are you meditating?_ Asked a soft, teasing voice.

He snorted and flicked his big ears back and listened as Fenton trotted up to him. The other wolf had been prowling the grass for a rabbit, before giving up, and had been howling to Therus who had gone off to hunt.

They had been invited, but Shiloh had never had much of a blood-lust during the full moon, and decided to stay behind. Fenton had stayed behind as well, but Shiloh thought it was solely to stay close to him.

 _I’m just enjoying the night,_ he said. Thunder rumbled again after a white flash of lightning struck in the West. The wind was starting to pick up and howl through the windbreaks. He flicked his ears as the fireflies disappeared.

Fenton rubbed against him, tail wagging slowly, before he slid down to the ground and rolled into his back, pawing at the other wolf playfully. Shiloh curled his lips back from his teeth and growled playfully, nipping at the large paws as they swatted at his face.

Finally he tackled the other wolf, and the two rolled around, yapping playfully and snapping at each other. Shiloh has just managed to pin the other wolf down, and was rolling on him to irritatingly scent-mark him, when the sky opened up and it started to downpour.

The two wolves sprang away from each other and ran to the nearest shelter which was a clump of overgrown trees. The ground beneath them was bare and covered in old pine needles, which Fenton stepped on with a yelp as it wedged between his paw pads.

Shiloh shook out his coat before sitting down, while Fenton raised his paw and gnarled at the needle.

The silver wolf flicked his brown-tipped ears as he waited, watching the curtain of rain which blocked out even the lightning. The wind howled and the trees above them swayed. He squared his ears when rain sprayed under the branches and started to fall down through the top.

Fenton managed to pull the pine needle out and stood up. _I say we run for the house._

 _Do you know which way is?_ He asked.

 _Of course_ , he said confidently. _I could find my way there blind._

With the way the rain was coming down and the wind was whipping it, it certainly would be like going in blind. So he stepped back next to the other omega to allow him to lead the way.

It wasn’t easy, and before they reached the safety of the lower patio which was covered by the upper level balcony, they were pelted with hail and had to cross a swollen stream. Now both wolves were completely drenched and coated with mud up past their knees.

Fenton shook out his fur again. _Well, that was fun,_ he complained.

Shiloh whined and tipped his head back to howl. The sound was certainly lost in the storm, but he couldn’t help himself. Lightning cracked and thunder rumbled, and when he listened he thought he heard a howl, but it may have been the wind.

Fenton plopped down onto the ground. _I’m sure he’s fine,_ he said. _He knows this area better than anyone._

 _I know,_ he sighed as he sat down with his tail wagging nervously.

Fenton lounged on his side. _So, you did mean everything earlier, right?_

He turned his attention to the other wolf. _About?_

_Us being a pack; being together._

He pawed at the other wolf. _Of course I did._

The deep brown wolf’s tail thumped happily. _Okay._

_If anything, Fen, I fell in love with you first._

Fenton felt his heart swell and he tackled the other wolf with a whine. Shiloh nipped at him, the two rolling around and playing, and leaving a mess of mud and water on the ground. The rain started to let up and thunder cracked, shaking the ground, and Shiloh tackled Fenton when he was distracted. He pinned Fenton down and looked up as a massive black shadow skulked towards the house. Shiloh sat back on the other wolf as the massive werewolf approached.

He snorted what could have been interrupted as a laugh. The werewolf was sopping wet, and even muddier than they were. He still looked intimidating as hell, with his fur wet it showed the cut of his muscles and scars from previous fights, but all his hair was matted down and his ears were squared.

 _You look worse than we do,_ Fenton laughed. He started to squirm but Shiloh wouldn’t move. He growled in frustration.

Shiloh only growled back playfully, while keeping one eye on the large werewolf as he stepped into the shelter and shook out his coat, spraying water and mud everywhere. Then his bones were breaking and he was shrinking down into his wolf form. 

_I had to cross a river,_ Therus explained as he shook out his coat again. He stepped toward the two other wolves and nuzzled against Shiloh, which also pushed him off the other omega wolf.

 _A river? How far did you go?_ Fenton asked while scrambling to his feet.

 _I smelled hunting dogs,_ he explained. _I had to make sure they were here for the deer and not for us._

Shiloh stood up. _And?_

 _Elk hunters,_ Therus said as he started to lick the omega’s fur. _I recognized them from previous years. But I had to be sure they weren’t any danger to us._ Because he would absolutely not allow any werewolf hunters to take what he loved away again. Had they been a danger to his pack he wouldn’t have hesitated to slaughter them all and bury their corpses as far away as possible.

Shiloh leaned against the larger wolf. They were all far too wet and muddy to go inside, so they spent the remainder of the storm and the night cuddled up together under the shelter. It was still dark and foggy when the moon fell and it was the sudden transformation back into their human skin that told them that it was dawn.

To Shiloh’s surprise his change back was as easy as his earlier shift to wolf. Not holding back, not being crippled with anxiety and being close to his pack had loosen him up and allowed his transformation to be as smooth as Fenton’s. He experienced very little pain and other than the blood in his mouth from his teeth cutting through this mouth he did not otherwise bleed.

It was almost more euphoric than their threesome earlier.

Given their dirty states they opted for separate showers. Shiloh went to the guest bathroom on the first floor and took his time washing the mud off his body and picking leaves out of his hair. Then he washed and dried, before wrapping himself up in a clean robe and grabbing his toiletry bag and heading upstairs.

He could hear showers still running so he went and sat on Therus’ bed to wait. The glass doors leading out onto the balcony were wet but drying as the clouds finally cleared and the sun started to peak out. He sat with his legs criss-crossed and back to the pillows, just watching the sunrise, when the bathroom door opened.

Therus, with only a towel around his hips and still damp from showering, he smiled at the man sitting in his bed, watching the sunrise. The light danced off his silver hair, sparkling in water droplets still caught there. 

Shiloh turned to him. His grey eyes, which were actually starting to fill with different soft colors, drifted up over his body before meeting his eyes. He smiled softly and scooted over.

Therus took the silent invite and sat down on the bed. “You look like you’re doing a lot better than the other night,” he said.

“I am,” Shiloh agreed. He was tired, sure, but he had walked himself inside without needing any help. “I’m… I’m feeling really good. Last night was really… really nice.”

“Which part?” He teased.

Shiloh blushed. “I’ve never done anything like that before. Obviously,” he added with a soft laugh. “It was so different from what I’ve been through. I never thought I would… that I would ever let someone, primarily an alpha, near me like that.”

“Your trust in me means everything to me,” Therus said softly. “I’m honored.”

Shiloh laughed before covering his mouth to yawn. “You could do so much better than me, Therus.”

He cocked his head and frowned. “Never.” He leaned over and kissed Shiloh’s cheek.

There was a knock on the door before Fenton peered in. “Am I interrupting?”

Therus dropped back onto the bed. “As if I believe you would knock if you thought we were doing anything,” he said as he yawned, baring his teeth as he did.

Fenton shrugged and jumped onto the bed. “You’re right.”

Shiloh laid down last, and after a moment, curled up with Therus. The bed shifted around before Fenton spooned up behind him, his lips gently kissing the heavy scars on the back of his neck. Shiloh closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. 

...

Shiloh wasn’t ready to leave the country house behind, but the moon was over, and they had to get back to their lives, specifically Therus. He finished packing his backpack and pulled it over his shoulder as he walked through the house. They would be back in a month, and Therus promised to take a long vacation during the upcoming winter when they could allow themselves to be snowed in and forget all about the outside world.

He slept in the passenger seat the entire drive back into the city, and when they were finally home and unpacked no one felt like cooking, so they ordered in.

“I think I’m going to go to an audition tomorrow,” Fenton said. The three were spread out on the floor in the living room with boxes of Chinese takeout shared between them and a comedy special on the television.

“For what?” Shiloh asked.

“A local production,” he explained. “It’s being put on by a director I’ve admired for a while. It’s based on his life in Scotland.”

“So would you need to use an accent?” He asked excitedly.

“Hell no!” He laughed. “I’m going for background dancer. I cannot do accents at all.”

Shiloh laughed and reached for the last eggroll just as Therus did. He hesitated only a second, meeting the alpha’s eyes, before he snatched it up for himself.

Therus’ lips twisted into an amused smirk and he instead selected a fortune cookie.

After eating and getting ready for the evening, Shiloh stood fidgeting in the living room. Which bedroom was he supposed to go to? Was he expected to crawl into bed with Fenton, or sleep with Therus? He felt an obligation to both, and felt like he was being torn in two.

Then Therus stepped out into the hallway, looking around until he saw Shiloh by the window, standing in the moonlight. He smiled. “Are you coming?”

He exhaled shakily. “I wasn’t sure where to sleep,” he confessed.

“You can sleep wherever you want,” Therus said as he leaned against the wall. He was shirtless, in just a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants that did very little to hide his physique.

He had looked out the window, to the city and the sky above the tall buildings. The stars were smothered by city lights and smog, but the moon cut through and shined down on him. 

“I want to sleep with you tonight,” he said as he approached the alpha. Therus smiled and follows him into the bedroom. Shiloh tugged off his jeans and looked around, before spotting the matching top to Therus’ pants. He folded his clothing and placed them on the dresser before he pulled on the long-sleeve, oversized top.

He turned around as he pulled his hair back into a ponytail. Therus was sitting on the bed, watching him with rapt fascination that was both flattering and confusing. “So you have to go back to work tomorrow?” he asked as he sat down on the bed.

“Unfortunately,” Therus said as he looked at the omega. Shiloh was relaxed, wearing his clothing, willingly getting into bed with him, and appeared to be happy. It made his heart pound and his inner alpha happily preen. And when they got under the blankets together, Shiloh didn’t hesitate to curl up against him. 

…

“And you’re sure he won’t be annoyed?” Shiloh asked as he and Fenton walked down the busy sidewalk. It was close to the noon-hour and the streets and diners were buzzing with activity. In his arms Shiloh carried a bag of take-out from an Italian restaurant that Fenton said Therus loved.

Fenton’s lips twitched and he glanced at the other omega. “Of course not, I bug him all the time.”

“I’m sure you do,” Shiloh said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

“I’m sure,” he said. “If I know you’re in the auditorium I’ll be distracted.”

“So does that mean, if you get the part, that I can’t come watch you?” he asked, disappointed.

“No, no, completely different situation,” Fenton insisted. “In fact, if you don’t come to every show, I’ll absolutely hold it against you and stop being your friend.”

Shiloh laughed loudly and bumped their shoulders. “Wow, cutting me out of your life so easily.”

Fenton looked up as they approached a sparkling, polished building. “So I’ll meet you back here after my audition, okay? If it runs late I’ll text you.”

Shiloh nodded and wished him luck, before he walked through the doors and into the lobby. Everything was pristine and marble, and everyone around him was dressed way better than himself. He hesitated, chewing his lip, before he walked through the crowed to the desk that Fenton had told him to go to. The secretary was just as he described, a handsome young man with curly hair and blue-frame glasses, was typing on his computer before turning his attention to Shiloh.

“May I help you?”

“Yes,” Shiloh said as he steeled his nerves. This man was a simple human, not more than twenty-five, probably someone he may have even waited on when he worked at the restaurant. He could handle humans, no matter how well they dressed or how intimidating they looked. “Fenton said you could point me in the direction of Therus’ office?”

The man sat up and nodded. “Oh! Yes, of course,” he said. “Take the elevator up to fourteen, his door in the fourth one on your left.”

Shiloh thanked him and stepped onto the elevator. As the door closed he exhaled and gripped the bag close to his chest, and he hoped that Therus would actually be okay with him just dropping in with lunch. His biggest worry that the man would be in some kind of important meeting, or that he would have already had lunch, but Fenton had waved his hand at his worried questions and told him to chill.

Now he was walking down a carpeted hallway to the fourth door on the left, which also had Therus’ name on it.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and knocked.

“Come in,” called a familiar, patient voice.

Shiloh slowly opened the door and peered in. “Hey.”

Therus stood from his desk. “Shiloh,” he said with a massive grin. “What brings you here?”

“I brought you lunch,” he said as he stepped into the medium-sized office and closed the door behind him. The room was pretty plain, there were plush chairs for clients to sit at, a bookshelf filled with books but no personal items or nick-nacks. The oak desk was large and in an l-shape, with a computer, files, and lots of paperwork. But it was the view that really took Shiloh’s breath away, and he stepped over to the windows to look out over the city.

“Wow,” he said, “nice view.”

“I agree,” Therus said as he sat on the edge of his desk. “It’s even better with you here.”

Shiloh blushed as he turned around. “I brought you lunch,” he repeated as his eyes wandered over Therus, who was devastatingly handsome in his custom-suit and shiny shoes. “Fenton went to his audition.”

Therus hummed. “Well your timing is perfect, I was just thinking of taking a break.”

Shiloh was pretty sure that was a lie, because he doubted that Therus knew how to take a proper break, so maybe this was a good idea. Maybe that's why Fenton so often surprised Therus with lunch or a snack or just popped in to see him. He set the bag down as Therus cleared off the corner of the desk so he could set the take-out containers.

“We went to Nicoli’s,” he said, as if the name on the side of the bag hadn’t already given Therus that information, “they had some new sandwiches. I got um, prime rib and three cheese, and turkey with avocado. They come with homemade potato chips.”

Therus took the prime rib, as Shiloh expected him too, and they sat down to eat. As they did, Shiloh asked questions about Therus’ job, his coworkers, his boss, his hope to understand his life outside the pack a bit more. Therus in return asked him what he had done that day, and more importantly, if he wanted to go on a date Friday night.

“Yes,” Shiloh said as he twisted the cap off his water bottle. “You don’t need to ask me twice.”

Therus smiled. “The weather is supposed to be cool and sunny. I thought we could go for a ride along the coast.”

“I’d love that,” he said.

“Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle?” he asked.

Shiloh shook his head. “Nope. Hopefully I don’t fall off.”

Therus laughed. “I won’t let you,” he promised before leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

He felt warmth spread through him and couldn’t stop from purring at the quick contact, and suddenly his brain was imagining scenarios he had no place imagining right now. Like how Therus would look with his tie undone and shirt open, and wondering how stable the desk was.

Shiloh looked out the window as he tried to reign in such thoughts. It was definitely new for him. Sure he had felt definite lust over the moon cycle but he could blame that on hormones and moon fluxes (and Fenton) but this was new.

But should it be such a shock? Therus was courting him, and Shiloh had proposed that they be together as a pack in every way. 

That didn’t make the feelings any easier for him to understand however. He expected fear and anxiety, not comfort and attraction.

“Shy?” 

He turned his attention back to the man. The meal was done and he saw he had missed a text from Fenton. “I should let you get back to work,” he said with an easy smile. “But don’t work too hard.”

And when Shiloh stood, and leaned down for a kiss, Therus felt his heart nearly burst. He gently cupped the back of the omega’s head and encouraged him closer, and easily deepened the kiss as Shiloh leaned down against him, very nearly crawling into his lap.

Therus groaned. “We better stop.”

Shiloh licked his lips and stepped back. He would rather not stop, but that was lust again, urging him to ignore reason and just bend over the desk.

_Fuck._

“Yeah,” he finally agreed. “I’ll-I’ll see you tonight.”

Therus smiled and stood. “I’ll walk you out.”

There were other people around, so there was no making out in the elevator, but at the lobby door Shiloh couldn’t stop from leaning up to press a kiss to the alpha’s cheek.

“Don’t work too hard,” he said.

“I promise,” Therus said as he regretfully let him go.

Shiloh looked back once to wave, before he fell into the sidewalk traffic. As he walked, his brain a jumble of warmth, when he remembered he had missed a text.

**Fenton (1:30pm) _Gonna be a while. See you at home!_**

**Shiloh (1:45pm) _Good luck!!!_**

He tucked his phone away as he walked, and stopped to figure out just where he was. He and Fenton had taken a bus to the restaurant, then walked the rest of the way, but Shiloh wasn’t too familiar with this part of the city. He was looking for a bus stop or a taxi when he caught a scent.

A very familiar scent, and certainly one he knew he should walk away from, but he instead found himself turning towards it.

Huh, small world indeed. It was Heath, Jacob, and Ben, but Darrel was suspiciously absent, making him fear the worst. It took him a second to figure out why they were there, and it wasn’t until he saw their hard hats and bright neon construction vests.

When Heath turned his head and spotted him, Shiloh tensed. Instinct told him to get the hell out of there, that these bastards had abused him for fucking years. But there was a new voice, a louder voice; his wolf’s voice.

No.

He stood, patiently waiting as the pack approached him, sneers and smiled comprised of too many sharp teeth on their faces. Shiloh tilted his head and for the first time, thought, _Was I ever actually afraid of these clowns?_

And he realized that no, he wasn’t. It was Devon who had scared him, had beaten him into submission, had allowed these wolves to rape, abuse, and use him. But these men, on their own without an actual alpha controlling them?

What was there to fear?

Jacob was the first to hesitate when he smelled Therus, and he looked around somewhat wide-eyed. 

“So you’re someone else’s bitch?” Heath leered as he closed in on the omega.

“No,” Shiloh said as he looked him over. He had new scars, and they all looked thinner than before. Having problems being in their own? “You’re without an alpha?”

“I’m the alpha!” Heath shouted.

Shiloh, however, didn’t flinch. “No, you’re not,” he laughed.

He expected the beta to attack him, so when he did, Shiloh was already stepping back. He dodged the man’s fist, grabbed him by the throat, and kicked out his feet, sending him to the ground. Ben and Jacob gasped, but stayed back, as Shiloh leaned over the beta.

“You’re not alpha,” he growled. “You’re pathetic.”

There were people looking, but most continued on with their business. Shiloh growled and leaned closer. “I suggest you three get the fuck out of here, or my alpha will finish you off like he did Devon.”

“Too much of a pussy to do it yourself?” Heath wheezed.

“No,” Shiloh replied calmly. “I don’t like the taste of blood, and have been through enough violence.”

Heath snarled and attempted to shove Shiloh away while punching at him, but Shiloh easily avoided the hit. Apparently living with Devon for so long had made it easy to see a hit coming and how to avoid it. And in response, he bit the man on the face.

Shiloh stood as Heath cowered away from him, hand over the bloody gashes on his face. He spit on the ground before wiping his hand over his mouth. “I imagine that will scar,” he said. “I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.”

“Fuck you,” Heath growled as he stood, still holding his face together. He took a step forward, but when Shiloh didn’t step back, he stopped.

Behind them Jacob and Ben were growing nervous; people were looking and there was no doubt that this wasn’t the same beaten omega they had abused in the past. There was a spark here, an energy, and it wasn’t just from the promise of the powerful alpha who most certainly had his back.

“Heath, man, lets go,” Jacob suggested as he reached for the other wolf.

“This isn’t ov—“

“If you finish that sentence,” Shiloh interrupted, “I’ll have my alpha hunt you down and kill you, and he won’t be as merciful as he was with Devon.”

The three paled and shuffled back once again. Heath snarled, but turned and stomped away, threat of vengeance left unfinished. The other two quickly followed, with Ben looking back several times in a mixture of confusion and fear.

Shiloh released the breath he had been holding and turned as a city bus pulled up. He swiped his card as he boarded it, and went to the back. His heart was pounding and he was shaken, but not out of fear. He stood pondering this change as the bus, filled with loud humans, left the shining business district of the city. He had to walk a few blocks to home from the last stop, but the weather was nice for it.

And he didn’t feel afraid.

…

Shiloh was sitting on the couch, browsing newspapers for job opportunities, when the door flew open, followed by a very ecstatic Fenton.

“I got it!” He yelled as he jumped over the back of the couch to tackle Shiloh.

“That’s awesome!” He exclaimed back as he hugged the other wolf, and returned his enthusiastic kiss. “I can’t wait to watch you.”

“You’ll be doing more than that,” Fenton said, “you’ll be helping me rehearse.”

“Fen, I can’t dance or act,” he laughed.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said as he sprang to his feet. He jumped around a little more before he finally started to calm down. He dropped down onto the coffee table, wrinkling and disorganizing Shiloh’s ads. “Did you and Therus have a nice lunch?”

“We did,” he said as he sat back. 

“And he wasn’t annoyed at all, was he?”

“Nope,” he hummed.

Fenton cocked his head. “Did something happen?”

Shiloh exhaled. “I ran into my old pack.”

The impact of Fenton’s feet hitting the floor shook the ground. “What!?”

“Thy were working at a construction site,” he explained. “There were only three, my guess is Darrel left or they killed him. Heath tried to intimidate me but…”

Fen leaned forward. “But?”

“I bit him and told him if they tried to come after me again that Therus would kill them,” he said.

“Shy! I’m so proud of you!” Fenton said as he reached out to shaking Shiloh by grasping his knees. “You’re learning that we don’t take shit from no one. We’re omegas, not weak little bitches.”

He scrunched up his face. “I thought for sure you’d be mad at me.”

“Do you know how many fights I’ve been in with other wolves who think they can bully me?” Fenton asked. “Therus taught me early on that he will always have my back, but that I shouldn’t be afraid to also stand up for myself, especially if it’s a fight I can win. Now, I’ll not go up against another alpha, but that doesn’t mean I won’t shit-talk him until Therus gets there to save my stupid ass.”

Shiloh laughed. “Yeah, I can see that happening to you.”

“Hey now—“

“A lot.”

Fenton growled playfully and jumped on him. He meant to tackle Shiloh onto the couch but he instead found himself on his back and Shiloh leaning over him.

“Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “You’ve changed so much already.” 

Shiloh blinked. “I mean, I noticed a little change but nothing major.”

Fenton kissed him. “Trust me, sweetheart, you’re growing. You’re already so amazing.”

He blushed and leaned off the other man, and sat back. It was then that Fen noticed all the advertisements. “I want to get a job. If I sit around here all day I’ll be bored out of my mind. Also, I don’t want to sponge off Therus.”

“Like I do?”

“Shit, I didn’t mean—“

Fenton’s laughter cut him off. “I’m kidding! Trust me, I know what you mean. And I always try to pay him back, and when he doesn’t take it, I just put it in my savings just in case he, or we, ever need it.”

Shiloh nodded and gestures to the papers. “Problem is, I have zero skills, and only a GED. Not a lot of opportunities here other than what I was doing before.”

“Do you have any idea of what you want to do?” 

“No,” he said honestly.

“Then start small,” he suggested. “Take something easy, even if it’s just a waiter job like before, and take some classes. You can do anything you want.”

“Just so you know, waitressing isn’t easy,” he corrected as he picked up an ad for a barista. It was for a cafe just down the street, he and Fen had gone there for coffee many mornings. “But… but you might be right. I can start off with this, look into classes for… for something. I can do this.”

Fenton kissed his cheek. “You’re fucking right.”

So with Fenton’s help he filled out the application and together they walked down to the shop to drop it off, and picked up some iced coffee while they were there. Shiloh wanted to cook something for supper instead of ordering in, so while Fenton rehearsed in the living room he made himself busy, doing his best to cook something the pack would enjoy.

It didn’t take him long to realize he actually couldn’t cook anything other than a few basics, and made a note to take cooking classes. He settled on making bacon cheeseburgers and homemade French fries. He was just thinking of texting Therus, to ask when he would be home, when the door opened.

He heard Fenton say, “Hey, you’re actually home on time.”

“I crammed,” Therus answered. “You look especially jubilant. Did you get the part?”

“I did!” And Shiloh heard the omega jump against Therus in celebration, most likely sharing a kiss like he had earlier with himself. 

Shiloh smiled to himself as he cleaned up the best he could, and went to get the others when Therus walked into the kitchen. He stopped and smiled. “Hi.”

Therus smiled back. “You made supper?”

“This is the extent of my abilities,” he said. “Don’t expect anything fancy or remotely complicated.”

The alpha chuckled and stepped closer, and pause to let Shiloh close the distance, which he eagerly did. After a kiss he excused himself, wanting to change before they ate.

Fenton grabbed a beer and leaned back against br refrigerator. “He’s never home early.”

“So don’t get used to it?”

“I think to get home to you, he’ll do anything,” he said with a smile.

Shiloh swallowed hard. “I’ll never understand why he picked me,” he whispered.

”Someday you will,” Fenton said as he went to fill his plate. 

After supper, Fenton left to go for a jog (he needed to get back into tip-top shape he said) and Shiloh decided to tell Therus about his run-in with the pack.

To his surprise his response was similar to Fenton’s but he seemed more agitated that there had been enemy wolves near his mate. Thankfully Shiloh was stronger than he looked, and years of abuse hadn’t completely diminished the fire inside of him. 

Therus was fresh from the shower and standing in just a towel, while Shiloh admired the view from where he sat on the bed. 

“If I see them again, I’ll avoid them if you want,” he offered.

Therus shook his head. “Only if you’re in danger,” he said, “but I trust you to handle them. They’re not nearly as strong as they were. They’re nothing more than street dogs.”

Shiloh nodded, and he honestly doubted he would see them purposely again. They were cowards, and if they were smart, would move on to better packs and use this time to change their lives.

“I was thinking about Friday,” Shiloh said.

“Hmm?” Therus has turned his back and dropped the towel as he searched his dresser for pajama pants.

Shiloh didn’t know how it was possible for his mouth to be both dry and salivating at the same time. He cleared his throat. “Uh, right, Friday,” he started again. “It’s a good idea.”

Therus started to laugh as he turned around, pants in hand. “Is that really what you were going to say?”

“No,” he admitted as he let his eyes wander down. No, he had completely forgotten what he wanted to say. Now his mind went to one thing, and one thing only, and Therus seemed to sense it because he dropped the pants and approached the bed.

A visibly aroused alpha male should have sent him into a panic, but Shiloh only felt a spike of adrenaline and excitement. He licked his lips as the heavy scent of alpha wolf filled the space between him, and Shiloh couldn’t deny the immediate effect on himself.

“Shiloh?” Therus asked quietly.

He exhaled shakily. He looked up, tearing his eyes away from the hardened cock, up over washboard abs, his scarred chest, so his face. “Yes?”

“Tell me what you want to do,” he said, voice just as quiet but heavier now.

He gulped again. “I want to touch you.”

“I’m yours,” Therus said, “to do with as you wish.”

Shiloh, hands shaking, stood and approached the larger male. He was shaking, but he wasn’t scared. He let his curiosity take control and reached out with both hands, laying them on the man’s chest. He trailed his fingers over scars, over tattoos. As the man’s heavy scent, which told Shiloh that his alpha was very much ready to mate, became too much he leaned in and licked one particularly vibrant scar that was on his chest.

Therus groaned and inhaled through his teeth. His hands clenched at his sides as he willed himself to remain completely still. 

Shiloh continued to run his hands down the man’s body, only stopping just before his impressive cock. He had seen it a couple times before, he had even touched it their threeway with Fenton, but this was different. Maybe it was because it was just the two of them, maybe because they weren’t being influenced by the moon, because everything felt suddenly so cemented and real.

And he wished that he had done more with Fenton other than touching and kissing, and that one blow job (which he had received), because his brain was scrambling to figure out what to do with this man and all he could come up with was bend over.

He swallowed hard. “Do you want me on the bed?”

Therus tilted his head and looked down at Shiloh. He was flushed, visibly aroused, and smelled incredibly sweet and alluring, but there was still an anxious energy around him. 

“Yes.”

Exhaling shakily Shiloh walked over to the bed, stripping as he did, before crawling onto it. He knelt in the center, head down and hands fisting the blankets, and butterflies churning in his stomach.

Therus, having expected this, went and retrieved the lube from his nightstand before returning to the bed. He shook his head before he leaning over the omega’s back and started to kiss down his spine. He could hear Shiloh’s somewhat frantic breathing, and his entire body had grown tense.

That was okay, Therus knew they were going to be moving slow.

He kissed the scars that littered the omega’s shoulders before he forced him over, dropping him flat onto his back. Shiloh stared up at him, a stunned look on his face.

Therus smiled. “Did you really think we would be doing it that way?”

Shiloh’s face scrunched in confusion. “How else…”

“Shiloh,” he said warmly, “I want to see your beautiful face.”

He hiccuped and blinked rapidly. “Oh. I didn’t think alphas…”

“I’m not Devon,” he reminded the omega gently. “And if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me. If you ever want to stop, tell me, _please_ Shiloh.”

“I-I will,” he promised as he wiped his eyes. Therus was leaning over him, kneeling between his legs. He could feel the man’s cock against his thigh when he moved. He could smell the heaviness between them, each other’s scents attempting to lure the other in to mate. He looked at the bottle of lube and back to Therus. 

“I want you,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster. “I want to be yours.”

The amount of trust the omega was putting in him was amazing. Therus leaned down to kiss him, licking slowly into his mouth, savoring his sweet taste. As Shiloh leaned up to meet him, tangling his hands in his hair, Therus wet his fingers with lube and dropped his hand between Shiloh’s legs.

There was resistance at first, and Therus didn’t press him. He simply rubbed with his fingers, not working them in, only circling again and again. As he kissed Shiloh deeper, and the omega responded with exuberance, he also started to relax. Therus groaned as he was able to slip in a finger.

“Oh—“ Shiloh hissed as Therus kissed down his neck, stopping again to suck wetly over the scent gland. His eyes fluttered shut and he slumped back, thighs quivering and heart pounding. “ _Oooh—“_

Therus rumbled a pleased growl as he worked in two fingers, and continued to mouth down the omega’s body. He kissed and nibbled each nipple, stopped to kiss every scar, before he licked his way down his stomach to his cock, which was hard and dribbling precum.

He grasp Shiloh’s thigh with his free hand, spreading his legs wide and directing one leg to drape over his shoulder, so he could lean down and take him in his mouth.

Shiloh has never felt more open and exposed, but at the same time, he didn’t feel a pinch of fear. Instead he felt like he was burning up, heat and need building up in his body, and he let out a shaking cry. Therus responded with an equally loud growl, the sound making his body vibrate, and he raised his head. His lips were wet with cum and his eyes were all wolf: fierce and hungry.

Shiloh chewed his lip as he looked down his body at the man who was sitting between his open legs, gripping one thigh with his large hand, while he sank a third finger into him. 

It wasn’t enough. Shiloh gasped and let out another whine. “ _Please....”_

“Please, what?” Therus asked in a voice that was deep and gravely. He thrust his fingers.

Shiloh’s head fell back, exposing the long column of his throat. “I need you,” he gasped. “I want you!”

He felt empty when Therus pulled his fingers free. Then the alpha was over him, hands on either side of his head, cock resting against his aching, wet hole. Shiloh shuddered at the slightest touch, and he spread his legs more and whined, resting his head back again in a show of submission.

Therus’ voice was such a deep, rumbling growl that Shiloh almost missed his name being spoken. Then the man was kissing at his throat, his teeth gently biting, and his tongue licking over the bruises left behind. “Please…” he begged. He dared to shift his body, lifting his hips, rubbing Therus’ cock against his--

With a groan, Therus grabbed Shiloh’s thighs and thrust into him, but before he lost complete control, he snapped back to reality, his eyes clearing up and his muscles relaxing, and he managed to not mount the omega in one brutal thrust, instead he slowed to a stop, with just the head of his cock buried in moist heat.

“Hnn!” Shiloh cried out, and reached out for support. He curled his nails into Therus’ shoulders, latching himself on for support, while his feet left the mattress. He blinked through a fresh wave of tears and looked up at the man who was currently leaning over him, staring at him intensely.

He gasped out, “Oh,” before he gave the alpha a soft smile. “I’m okay.”

“You’re sure?” Therus asked as he started to kiss the tears away.

“Mm-hm,” he hummed as he shuddered. He turned his face so he could catch Therus in a kiss. He wanted to touch his face, tangle his fingers in his hair, but he was reluctant to release his hold on the man’s shoulders, in fear of losing his anchor. He let out a whimper as he licked the man’s mouth. “I’m okay, I promise.”

Therus cupped his face before he started to move, this time pushing in until he was fully seated. Shiloh was tight and hot; he had never felt so perfectly sheathed in his life. He groaned and dropped his head, running his lips along the omega’s neck and up to his ear. “I adore you,” he groaned, “gods, I _love_ you.”

Shiloh blinked and sniffled. Before he could respond, the man pulled back and thrust back into him, making his body rock. He moaned, toes curling and fingernails sharpening into claws, sinking deep into the man’s shoulders. He rocked his body against Therus’ as the man slowly, and painstakingly timed thrusts, each of which threatened to make Shiloh mute.

He couldn’t stop moaning, and when he wasn’t, he was gasping. Whenever he managed to open his eyes and focus on what was going on, he was left breathless. Therus’ tanned skin was flushed and sweaty, and his muscles pulled tight as he worked to control his strength as to not overwhelm or hurt the smaller man beneath him. And his cock, it left Shiloh whining, because he was stretched to his limit, and he was fucking living for it. He could feel the bulbous head as it penetrated him, and every inch and bulging vein as Therus thrust deep into him. He would cry, and Therus would pamper him with kisses, whispering how he was doing so good, and how tight he felt, how beautiful he was.

Soon his moans became harsh pants, “Therus, Therus, Therus,” in time with the man’s thrusts, which were growing harder and closer together. He crushed himself against the man, clinging to him as the bed started to rock with their movement. Shiloh whined and moaned, before he bit Therus on the neck and tasted blood. The alpha groaned and shoved a hand between them, grasping Shiloh’s cock, and started to jerk it.

“Ah--!” Shiloh sobbed. “Th-Therus--! Please yes, oh yes, yes yes--”

The man moaned, pounding into the lithe body beneath him, growling and baring his teeth and pressing them against the omega’s throat as he started to come. His hips stuttered out of rhythm as he plunged deep into Shiloh, again and again, filling him with his seed. He listened as Shiloh’s cries for more became louder, and then the omega bucked against him, shaking, and finally he came, his seed splattering between them and over Therus’ knuckles.

Therus braced himself on his dirty hand and rested over Shiloh, who was slowly relaxing, first dropping his legs from where they had been wrapped around him, and then unhooking his claws from his shoulders and slumping back onto the bed. His face was flushed and wet with tears, his lips were chewed raw and pink, and his hair was a mess. His body was covered his bruises from lips and fingers, and he was slick with sweat and cum.

He was beautiful.

Therus gently started to kiss him, pampering him, and comforting him with gentle touches from his hands. He helped Shiloh relax by rubbing his twitching muscles and massaging his sore limbs. He continued to kiss him, scattering them along the omega’s heaving chest and up his neck to finally capture his lips. Shiloh whimpered and lifted his shaking hands, cupping Therus’ face as they kissed. 

“I love you, too,” Shiloh cried between kisses. “So much, Therus.”

The man chuckled warmly. “You’re drunk,” he said as he nuzzled the omega’s neck. He was practically glowing, and was desperate for kisses and more contact, both of which Therus was more than happy to give him. He carefully shifted his hips and pulled out of the omega, and immediately missed the warmth of his mate. But Shiloh was certainly aching, and Therus was determined to make him as comfortable as possible.

“I’m not,” Shiloh laughed as he kissed down Therus’ neck. What he was was dirty, sore, and very sticky. He was going to have a mess to clean up. He licked at the blood smeared on Therus’ neck. “Sorry, I bit you.”

“I liked it,” Therus said with a laugh as he slowly sat up. He looked down at the satisfied omega; satisfied, but filthy. He cocked his head. “Do you want to take a bath?”

“Is it that bad?” he asked as he sat up. Yes, it was that bad. He blushed hotly. “Maybe I should…”

Therus smiled and stood, and before Shiloh could move, pulled the man into his arms. They went to the bathroom without running into Fenton, who was still out running (or more likely, gave up and went to find a snack) and went into the bathroom. Shiloh stood leaning back against the sink as Therus filled the bathtub with hot water and bubbles. He tilted his head and admired the view.

Shiloh looked down at himself again. There were bruises from Therus’ lips on his body, and little indents from his teeth. There were bruises on his thighs and legs from the man’s hands, and he blushed as he remembered the way Therus had maneuvered him around, the way he had known where to bite, where to kiss, and how to thrust. Gods, his cock was so _big_ , so big and filling, and had stretched him to his max. But it had been _so good_ , Shiloh never through sex could be so wonderful. But he had a wonderful partner, a man who… who loved him.

He looked up and blushed. Therus arched an eyebrow. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” he said as he crossed the bathroom, a bit wobbly, and joined him in the hot water.

…

“I leave, and you two fuck without me, wow, rude.”

Shiloh laughed sleepily. After their bath he had curled up in bed, while Therus had gone to check his emails for the night. Fenton had come home, smelled the sex, and leaped into bed with him. He was sweaty and smelled bad.

“It was… it was amazing,” Shiloh sighed.

Fenton smiled happily. “You look happy.”

“I am happy,” he said. “I’d be happier if you would shower, however.”

Fenton hit him with the nearest pillow before going to shower. Shiloh rolled over, curled up under soft, clean sheets, and thought about what had happened. He was sore, certain parts of him were aching, but it wasn’t the kind of pain he had been put through before. Therus hadn’t hurt him, not once. He hadn’t bitten him hard, hadn’t pinned him down and forced him into submission, hadn’t called him horrible names. No, he had been sweet, attentive, and very careful with him. 

And he loved him.

Shiloh’s toes curled and he laughed to himself, pressing his face into the pillow. He was just on the edge of sleep when the door opened and he heard Therus cross the room. The bed shifted and the covers lifted before the large alpha slid in behind him, drawn to him like a magnet, and spooned up against his backside.

“I thought you would be asleep,” Therus said as he kissed the scars on the back of Shiloh’s neck.

“I was talking with Fen.”

“Is that what I smell?”

He laughed. “Yeah.”

Therus continued to coddle him, running his hands over Shiloh’s body and kissing at his neck and back. He hummed. “You aren’t too sore, are you?”

“No,” he said with a heavy, contented sigh. “No, I’m absolutely wonderful.”

“You two make me sick,” Fenton sighed as he walked into the bedroom, freshly showered and wearing boxers and an oversized sweater. “I think I want to break up with you.”

“Not your call,” Therus said as he closed his eyes. “Are you getting in?”

He did, and he quickly burrowed himself under the blankets with Shiloh. He kissed the other omega’s forehead and ran his hands over the bruises and bites from Therus’ teeth. He leaned in and kissed at a bruise on his neck. “Am I invited next time?”

“If you aren’t too busy with anyone else,” Shiloh said as he started to drift off.

Fenton laughed and pet his hand through the other omega’s soft, silver hair. He looked past him to Therus, who had fallen asleep with his face tucked into Shiloh’s neck. “Why would I ever want anyone else?” he said to himself before closing his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END! 
> 
> This was so much fun to write, and I love these characters so much. It's pretty short compared to what I usually try to write, but this was never meant to be some massive novel, hence why it didn't have much of a plot or purpose, other than to get the characters and ideas out of my head. That being said, I will be writing with them again, because we need another threesome. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, commenting, kudos, and being patient with me. Hopefully I'll break out of this creative block and get back into writing regularly. I also want to try my hand at Inktober but whenever I try that, I always end up failing and crying a lot. If you're interested in hearing me cry and complain about art or writing, feel free to drop by my Twitter (wolffeathers83) and I also have a link to my ko-fi there, if you were interested (but don't at all feel obligated!!!)
> 
> Anyway, love you all, keep howling! xoxo


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